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

As I said, Mr President, the opposition leader keeps saying he is committed to the target, although I notice some reports in the paper over the weekend that indicate members of the coalition are concerned that Mr Abbott will in fact walk away from the five per cent target—very interesting. There might be a reason for that. The reason for that is the cost. Because what is clear from the Treasury modelling which has been released is that the 'subsidies for polluters scheme', which is Mr Abbott's policy, will cost almost five times the stated coalition policy—some $48 billion out to 2020 and an extra $1,300 in tax paid by Australian households every year. That is $1,300 more in tax. Not only do they stand for lower pensions; they stand for higher taxes for Australian households.