Laurie Ferguson (Werriwa, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Climate Change and Energy Efficiency and the Minister for Industry and Innovation. Will the minister update the House on the design and delivery of the government's Household Assistance Package for the carbon price? What does this mean for Australian pensioners? Why is it important that pensioners get this assistance?

Greg Combet (Charlton, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Climate Change and Energy Efficiency) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Werriwa for his question. The carbon price will only have a modest impact on the cost of living—an increase in the consumer price index, in fact, of 0.7 per cent. Key aspects of this forecast are now being confirmed by determinations that are coming from various of the state jurisdiction pricing regulators.

To help households the government is providing tax cuts, we are increasing pensions and we are increasing family tax benefits and a host of other Commonwealth payments. A fortnight ago, of course, we started making lump-sum payments to families in relation to family tax benefit increases. From today, as we have heard, cash payments will start flowing to pensioners. Single pensioners will receive $250 and couple pensioners will receive $380. This is going to be very helpful to pensioners all around Australia, in all of our electorates—those that we represent in this House. For example, in the electorate of Paterson, over 29,000 pensioners will receive assistance and yet the member for Paterson opposes it.

Pensioners around the country, in fact, have been repeatedly misled by members of the coalition, by the Leader of the Opposition, about the carbon price. The Leader of the Opposition has in fact claimed the cost of living impact of the carbon price will be 'unimaginable'. The member for Paterson, who I referred to a moment ago, has said that the carbon price would 'start an avalanche of inflation and a massive price hike'. All of this is completely deceitful.

Just last week the member for Paterson also wrongly blamed the carbon price for job losses at the Norsk Hydro aluminium smelter, whereas Norsk Hydro Vice President Halvor Molland made it absolutely clear:

The decision would have been the same with or without the carbon tax.

Those are the facts. The price impact is only 0.7 per cent. The government is using that carbon price revenue to provide tax cuts, pension increases, increases in family allowances for families who receive family tax benefits and we are increasing many other payments—an average of $10.10 per week for households across this country, with a modest price impact. In fact, when taken in combination with other measures announced in the budget, some families with an income in the order of $60,000 or $80,000 a year could well receive over $2,000 extra in the next financial year. (Time expired)