Ken Wyatt (Hasluck, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

One of my constituents recently wrote to me saying, with the cost of water electricity and council rates increasing seemingly out of control, most families are stretched to the limit when it comes to monetary matters. Although these words are the words of one man named Bill, these are the words that are regularly expressed to me. Bill's experience with the rising living cost is similar to the difficulties faced by many people in my electorate. It is an experience that is set to become far worse come the beginning of July with the introduction of the carbon tax. At the hands of the carbon tax, people in my electorate will be lumbered with the cost hikes in almost all areas of their lives: electricity, gas rates, groceries, council rates, water rates and transport. The list goes on, and all these costs are set to escalate due to the carbon tax.

We have heard endless spin from those opposite. The reality is this: the people in my community will unfortunately feel the carbon tax seeping into all areas of their lives. This is, after all, the very intention of this new tax. Those opposite seem to have conveniently forgotten that business will be forced to pass a cost incurred under this tax onto consumers. Families will foot the bill for this great big new tax. It simply defies logic to assume that individuals will not be paying more at the grocery store for fruit and vegetables that have been transported in a truck that has been hit with the increase in cost of fuel, increase in the cost of refrigerant, increase in the cost of electricity. This carbon tax does not exist in isolation and it is careless to make a claim that it does. Another gentleman from my electorate, Harold, recently wrote to me to explain his concerns about what the carbon tax would do to his costs. He said:

Those of us who worked, bought a home, saved and invested over their working life are now in a precarious financial position. We have relied on these savings to provide us with a safety net as a supplement to the age pension. However, due to the rising living costs and diminishing interest on investments, those of us who were either fully or partially self funded retirees now find that we have become more and more dependent on the age pension than ever before, and that has been eroded to such an extent that after paying electricity, water, insurance, council rates, vehicle registration and for maintenance, will be reduced to existing, not to living.

Harold's conclusion accurately summarises the feeling of many people in my electorate about the carbon tax and is an ominous sign of what has to come. Harold said:

May God help us when the carbon tax comes into force.

I might not be the most religious member of this place, but perhaps we all need some divine intervention come 1 July. Thank you.