Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Finance and Deregulation) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the senator for her question. It goes to the issue of the extent to which the risk of uncertainty causes flow-on effects throughout the economy. It is interesting, isn’t it, to note that the party opposite used to be a party which believed in market mechanisms, used to be a party that understood the importance of utilising market mechanisms? Now it is a party that does not understand the importance of business certainty and is prepared to rip that away with its irresponsible pledge, delivered yesterday by the chief wrecker, Mr Abbott, to remove the price on carbon if it is ever to return to this side of the chamber. It is a party that used to understand the importance of business certainty and the importance of market mechanisms, now simply looking to its short-term political advantage. (Time expired)