House debates Questions without Notice
Carbon Pricing
Bob Baldwin Paterson, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Tourism
2:39 pm
My question is to the Treasurer. I remind the Treasurer of comments from Victorian chicken meat boss Mike Shaw that the carbon tax has 'bowled over chicken growers with the triple-whammy price hike', with electricity up 13 to 16 per cent, LPG up 3.72c a litre, and landfill charges that have surged by $26 a tonne. Treasurer, Mr Shaw warns that without a cent of compensation for farmers or the ability to pass on increased costs: 'The only thing that is going to happen is we'll all go broke.' Treasurer, what do you expect our farmers to do?
Wayne Swan Lilley, Australian Labor Party, Treasurer
2:40 pm
If there have been unjustified price increases, they should be referred to the ACCC. Because, as I have said before, the overall impact on the economy is 0.7 per cent, less than one cent in the dollar. Yes, it does have a more significant impact on electricity. But, overall, in terms of our economy, price rises of that magnitude should be referred to the ACCC.