Adam Bandt (Melbourne, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. As things now stand, there will soon be no direct action sham, no carbon price and no emissions trading scheme. As most of the new senators now support at least the principle of an ETS, will you now agree to an ETS as well or will you continue to fail to protect the Australian people and leave the country without an economy-wide plan to tackle climate change?

Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I want to make the point in response to the member who asked the question that there is no country in the world, according to the Productivity Commission, that has an economy-wide carbon tax or indeed an economy-wide emissions trading scheme. For instance, the European ETS covers just 45 per cent of total emissions at about $8 a tonne; California's ETS covers about 35 per cent of total emissions at about $12 a tonne; New Zealand's ETS covers 50 per cent of total emissions at about $4.60 per tonne; and the Chinese ETS, or the proposed pilot in Beijing, covers 40 per cent of total emissions. And I am advised that 99.9 per cent of permits have been provided to industry for free.

When it comes to carbon taxes and emissions trading schemes, the world is going against the Greens' view. The problem that the Greens have, apart from the fact that they are being echoed by the Leader of the Opposition, and the problem the Labor Party have is that, as far as they are concerned, Copenhagen never happened. That is the thing: they have not woken up to the fact that everything with respect to climate change changed at Copenhagen. What we are doing is proposing—

Mark Dreyfus (Isaacs, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Attorney General) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

What are you doing?

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Isaacs is warned.

Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

What we are doing is proposing direct action. The interesting thing is that the countries that talk most loudly about tackling climate change and the countries that we are happy to work with when it comes to tackling climate change are countries that are putting direct action measures into place, such as President Obama's direction action measure to limit power station emissions.

Eric Hutchinson (Lyons, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Health. Could the minister please explain how abolishing the carbon tax will help bring down costs in the health sector?

Peter Dutton (Dickson, Liberal Party, Minister for Health) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

We know that the Labor Party is not too good with numbers but they surely realised when they imposed the only economy-wide carbon tax in the world that it would apply to health services. Surely they realised that the hospitals, the pharmacists, the dental practices, GP practices around the country—

Ms Catherine King (Ballarat, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Health) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

You are cutting $50 billion out of hospitals.

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Ballarat will desist.

Peter Dutton (Dickson, Liberal Party, Minister for Health) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

every time they use energy. It is a cost that they cannot absorb, that they must pass on to consumers. What does it mean? It means that they are taking away the capacity to put more into frontline services. We know that Treasury analysis in New South Wales says that Labor's carbon tax would impose $26.5 million on to the New South Wales health system.

Ms Collins interjecting—

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Franklin will desist.

Ms Plibersek interjecting—

And the member for Sydney will desist.

Peter Dutton (Dickson, Liberal Party, Minister for Health) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The amazing thing is that Labor just does not get it. Even today, they do not realise that hospitals in other countries do not face this carbon tax. This carbon tax takes the capacity away to deliver more surgery.

Mr Conroy interjecting—

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Charlton will remove himself under standing order 94(a).

The member for Charlton then left the chamber.

Peter Dutton (Dickson, Liberal Party, Minister for Health) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It makes it harder for doctors to see those patients. It makes it harder for pharmacists to provide those services because they are paying the carbon tax implemented by the Labor Party every time they flick on the switch or pay for goods that are coming into their practice.

Ms Collins interjecting—

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Franklin is warned.

Peter Dutton (Dickson, Liberal Party, Minister for Health) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

We know that analysis in Victoria shows that each and every year the carbon tax will cost $13.5 million as it applies to electricity and gas—

Ms Collins interjecting—

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I remind the member for Franklin she is warned. One more from her and she will leave.

Peter Dutton (Dickson, Liberal Party, Minister for Health) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

in their hospitals and across their health system and it grows each and every year.

It made me think about the scene from Yes Minister where they talk about the hospital being perfect except for the fact that it has got patients in it. The problem is that our hospitals do have patients in them. And we need to keep the lights on, we need to make sure that the operating theatres continue and we need to make sure that the intensive care units keep operating.

Mr Burke interjecting—

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Watson will desist.

Peter Dutton (Dickson, Liberal Party, Minister for Health) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

We cannot turn off the power. I am not sure if this is some sort of revelation to the Labor Party but we cannot turn the power off. They have to pay the carbon tax. Every time they use gas or electricity in these public hospitals, they are paying the carbon tax.

My advice to Labor premiers and to the Territory chief ministers is that they get on the phone to this Leader of the Opposition because Bill Shorten is the only person who is standing in the way of the abolition of the carbon tax. And the Leader of the Opposition needs to get out of the way and get this carbon tax off the back of all Australians.