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

I rise to congratulate and thank the Australian people on their efforts to have the carbon tax repealed. It is through their efforts that the cost-of-living pressures will be reduced for Australian households and, more importantly, those households in my electorate. Over its lifespan of two years the carbon tax cost the Australian economy $15.4 billion, and yet for all the pain domestic emissions were projected to rise through to 2020. The carbon tax was an unfair slug on the hip pockets of everybody in my electorate—a slug that was aided and abetted by the Labor Party members and their lapdogs in the Northern Territory. The member for Lingiari, Warren Snowdon, and the Northern Territory senator, Nova Peris, were right behind the atrocious tax, which they wanted to keep, and in doing so they were flying in the face of public opinion and the clear mandate delivered at last year's election. We said before the election that we would scrap the carbon tax, stop the boats, get the budget under control and build the roads of the 21st century. That is exactly what we are doing: we have stopped the boats; we have axed the tax and we are building the roads of the 21st century. This is a government that is honouring its election commitments and we are building a strong and prosperous economy for a safe and secure Australia.