Karen Andrews (McPherson, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The countdown is on to Australia being lobbed with the biggest and broadest carbon tax that the world has ever seen. Sunday, 1 July will signal the beginning of the 'python squeeze', the slow but deliberate strangulation of Australian businesses and consumers. That is the date on which we will start to see the already substantial cost-of-living pressures go up—and they will go up even further.

I, of course, am very concerned about the impact of the carbon tax on southern Gold Coast families, many of whom are already struggling to make ends meet. The unemployment figure for May, released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, remains very high for the southern Gold Coast, where the rate increased from 5.4 per cent in April to 6.6 per cent in May. Looking at these figures, it is understandable that locals in my electorate are extremely worried and concerned about the implications of the carbon tax, not just on the cost-of-living pressures but also on employment.

Australians will start to see and feel the effects of yet another bad Labor policy from this Sunday. That is because it will not be just the mythical so-called 500 big polluters copping the extra costs; it will be everyone. Electricity prices will be among the first price increases that Australians will begin to feel immediately. Electricity companies are bracing to be badly burnt by this flawed policy and have already indicated that they will be forced to pass costs on to their customers.

I have many small businesses in my electorate of McPherson that are dreading 1 July. These are hardworking Australians who feel cheated by the Gillard government. It is, after all, not easy to forget the Prime Minister telling the nation that there would be no carbon tax under her government. It is well known that small businesses will not be compensated for the carbon tax. One such business with serious concerns about this tax is the Currumbin-based PAC Refrigeration Services. This small business is worried about its viability as a commercial refrigeration and air-conditioning unit business post 1 July. The owner, Jeff Gaw, is concerned that costs for refrigerant gas will sky rocket. Currently, PAC pays about $96 plus GST for a kilo of R404A refrigerant gas, which is widely used in industrial and supermarket refrigeration. Jeff's supplier has calculated that a kilo of R404A will rise to $377 plus GST under the carbon tax. That is an increase of almost 400 per cent. This unpleasant surprise will hit the industry and consumers hard. It is just one more pain that Australians simply do not deserve.

Another small business bracing for losses is Print It in Burleigh. The owner, Jeff Roberts, has been told by his supplier to expect costs to sharply increase. He has been told that prices on custom cartons, corrugated board, stock cartons and sheets will increase from 1.8 per cent from 1 July this year, but this is only the start of the increases. I will quote from the email that Mr Roberts was sent by his supplier:

Our major board suppliers have advised that this increase is the first part of major price increases as direct and indirect effects of the Carbon Tax are felt by business and the wider economy. We regret this increase, but remind customers that these increases are part of the Federal Government's stated intentions for the Carbon Tax.

I seriously question the so called benefits of this carbon tax and what effect it will have on our environment, which I sincerely do care about protecting. The toxic policy will only increase year after year. In just one year, it will reach $9 billion. For what benefit to Mother Nature? The carbon tax will not actually lead to decreased carbon emissions. Carbon dioxide emissions will increase from 2012 to 2020 from 578 million tonnes to 621 million tonnes.

What impact does the government think the carbon tax will have on young Australians, the future leaders of the nation? I know personally that having to fork out more on my electricity bills will not make my children think twice about turning lights off or leaving them on around the house. This poor policy is just another example of where Labor does need to go back to the drawing board and start again.