Natasha Griggs (Solomon, Country Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development. Will the Deputy Prime Minister inform the House of the impact of the world's biggest carbon tax on the transport sector?

Warren Truss (Wide Bay, National Party, Leader of the Nationals) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the honourable member for her question. For cities like Darwin, which is in her electorate, transport costs are very substantial. It adds to their cost of living and of course makes it difficult for products from the Northern Territory to get to other parts of the country. A year ago, Labor announced their Townsville termination. Only a few days later members opposite were circulating newsletters to their electorates promising that, under Labor, there would be no carbon tax—faithfully promising there would be no carbon tax. They have now had three opportunities in this place to deliver on that promise and they have welshed. They have walked away. Labor wants to keep the carbon tax.

We know they have form in this regard. It is not the first time they have promised to get rid of a carbon tax. In 2010, there was going to be no carbon tax under the government that the then Prime Minister led. In 2013, there was the Townsville termination. If, at the next election in 2016, they perchance talk about there being no carbon tax under Labor, they have form. Everyone knows that if Labor is returned to office the world's biggest carbon tax will be back—except it will be bigger and more comprehensive, because Labor has promised to extend the carbon tax to transport fuel. If they were in office today, that would already be in place. Labor would be imposing a transport fuel carbon tax. That would have a particular impact on the Northern Territory because of the very large distances that are involved in doing business in the Territory.

The Australian Trucking Association has estimated that the carbon tax on the trucking sector would have cost $510 million in 2014-15 alone—and their estimates were higher and higher for each year after that. Labor intends to put up this cost. The biggest carbon tax in the world will get even bigger. We also know that the carbon tax has imposed costs on other parts of the transport sector. For example, the impact of the carbon tax on Australian airlines has been of the order of $200 million in the first year—and again it gets higher and higher every year.

Labor promised in 2010 that there would be no carbon tax. In 2013, they again promised that there would be no carbon tax. In 2016, they will probably promise it again, but it will be just as untruthful and Australians will be burdened by the world's biggest tax—except it will be even bigger and even nastier to Australian consumers.