John Cobb (Calare, National Party, Shadow Minister for Agriculture and Food Security) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. The electricity bill of a cold store owner in Blayney in my electorate has increased by over $5,000 as a direct result of the carbon tax. As most of the produce in the cold store is exported into overseas markets without a carbon tax, this business cannot pass these costs on. Why is this business being hit with a carbon tax of over $5,000 a month when the Prime Minister continues to claim that small business will not pay the carbon tax?

Julia Gillard (Lalor, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for this question. I would direct him to the comments made by the Minister for Climate Change during the course of this question time—I believe it was in answer to a question from the member for New England. He outlined some of the support and work that is happening to help cold storage businesses—it was a business that was refrigerating meals—to cut their electricity costs and seize a clean energy future. I refer the member to the Minister for Climate Change's answer because it is pointing him to parts of the clean energy future package, the carbon pricing package, that can work with the sort of business that he is describing. I would say to the member that, rather than going out and peddling fear and falsity, it would be better if he directed that business to aspects of the carbon pricing package which may be able to help them seize a clean energy future. That is the kind of thing that local members do.

Can I also say in respect of the member's question about carbon pricing that I am a little surprised that this seems to be the only day on which the Leader of the Opposition has not come into this parliament and backed in his stunt for the day by raising it as a question. He has talked about Olympic Dam but he has not talked about the cost-of-living-impacts of carbon on families. He was out with a family today. I am wondering if was too frightened to raise that because one of the members of that family was a public servant. Maybe he thought this was a particularly bad day to be talking about the cost of living for a family whose job he is trying to destroy—like those of 12,000 others. He is destroying not only jobs but also health and education services.

Unlike the opposition, we will continue to get this nation ready for a prosperous future. A clean energy future is part of that. The member who asked the question stood for a price on carbon in the 2007 election. If he wants to talk to his constituents about the future, he should make sure he tells them that John Howard supports a price on carbon, Brendan Nelson does, Malcolm Turnbull does and so does this Leader of the Opposition.

John Cobb (Calare, National Party, Shadow Minister for Agriculture and Food Security) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Madam Deputy Speaker, I would like to table the power bill in question.

Leave not granted.

Ms Anna Burke (Chisholm, Deputy-Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Calare will resume his seat—and count himself lucky.