Helen Polley (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Deputy President Parry, I formally congratulate you on your election to the office of Deputy President of the Senate. As a fellow Tasmanian, I commend you. I know you will do an excellent job.

Some of the comments that have been made in this debate in the chamber are a little unfortunate. Senator Bushby accused Labor senators of being like mushrooms—of being kept in the dark. Unlike him, I have never thrown my frock over my head when I have missed out on a position; I understand Senator Bushby is still sulking.

I would also like to take the opportunity to congratulate Senator Kroger on her elevation to the position of Chief Opposition Whip.

I would like to put on the record that a lot has been made of the announcement on Sunday but I do not think there is a better day. I will be celebrating my husband's birth­day. It will certainly be a very memorable day for him, unlike those opposite, who are only interested in running scare campaigns. They have little to contribute to a real debate on any policy in this country. There has been talk about people doing backflips and changing—going from left to right—but there are some opposite who know that climate change is real and who were supportive of carbon pricing previously. They have done backflips. So I think we need to put on record the real issues relating to the price of carbon.

Senator Cormann has said that we are trying to go it alone. Australia is not going it alone. In fact, the longer we delay, the greater the risk to our economy. A broad and growing number of countries are pricing carbon. For example, 32 countries and a number of US states already have emissions trading schemes. Carbon taxation is in place in the UK, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden, the Netherlands, Canada, and in selected places in China and India. So we should be honest when we come into the chamber and make comments on issues of great significance like this policy.

In terms of the assistance that households are going to get, those opposite, as usual, are very negative. They want to run away from any real debate but the fact is that nine out of 10 households will get a combination of tax cuts and an increase in the pension or family payments and other payments to help them adjust to the cost of living. The vast majority of those households will not lose a cent because of the carbon price. That is a fact. That will allow those households to do their bit on climate change without making financial sacrifices.

I think the majority of Australians out there understand that climate change is real. They have elected this government to govern in the best interests of this country. And we will be doing that. Australians know that lower income families do not have a lot of room to move. That is why we have taken the steps that we have—to ensure that there is a safety net for those whose costs are higher than average, to give them a bit of extra room to move. Our package is carefully put together to make sure that over three million households will get a buffer—up to an extra 20 per cent in tax cuts and payments over and above meeting the impact of the carbon price. It is a bit like Christmas. You will have to wait until Sunday. You will have to wait for the details but it will be worth tuning in to, I can assure you.

On the other hand, Mr Abbott has for some considerable time now been going around the country trying to scare families and the community. He is not prepared to enter into any real debate on this policy. He has been trying to scare the public into believing that families are going to be worse off with carbon pricing. He says they will have to pay up to $720 a year more in taxes and charges while the polluters get off scot-free. That is not going to be acceptable to the Australian people

We will get the details on Sunday and then we will see what happens as the weeks and months go on. When the facts are out there and the package is announced, I feel confident that the Australian community will get behind this policy and will see the benefits to the environment. They will also see that the measures we introduce will be within our budget restraints so that we will bring the budget back into surplus. Those are the commitments that we have made. Those are the commitments that the Prime Minister will be keeping.