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

The Prime Minister and the Minister for Climate Change and Energy Efficiency have made clear that every cent raised by the carbon price will go to households, business and tackling climate change, and that households will come first. I think they are very clear about that. Of course, as a Labor government, the assistance package will always reflect the values of a Labor government—that is, we will provide assistance which is fair, assistance that will target people who need it most such as low-income Australians and pensioners. Obviously, the detail of this is something that has not yet been determined because we are still in the process of designing what the carbon price mechanism will look like. There are a whole range of questions around industry assistance, transitional assistance, household assistance, as well as, for example, scope, coverage and the actual price. I know that even Senator Birmingham, who was once a moderate and used to say that we should act on climate change, is anxious to jump on board with the scare campaign that those in the Liberal Party, who will do anything to oppose carbon pricing, are engaged in. I know that he is trying to demonstrate that he is as tough as Cory Bernardi on this issue—he might have some trouble—