Senate debates
Tuesday, 1 November 2011
Bills
Clean Energy Bill 2011, Clean Energy (Consequential Amendments) Bill 2011, Clean Energy (Income Tax Rates Amendments) Bill 2011, Clean Energy (Household Assistance Amendments) Bill 2011, Clean Energy (Tax Laws Amendments) Bill 2011, Clean Energy (Fuel Tax Legislation Amendment) Bill 2011, Clean Energy (Customs Tariff Amendment) Bill 2011, Clean Energy (Excise Tariff Legislation Amendment) Bill 2011, Ozone Protection and Synthetic Greenhouse Gas (Import Levy) Amendment Bill 2011, Ozone Protection and Synthetic Greenhouse Gas (Manufacture Levy) Amendment Bill 2011, Clean Energy (Unit Shortfall Charge — General) Bill 2011, Clean Energy (Unit Issue Charge — Auctions) Bill 2011, Clean Energy (Unit Issue Charge — Fixed Charge) Bill 2011, Clean Energy (International Unit Surrender Charge) Bill 2011, Clean Energy (Charges — Customs) Bill 2011, Clean Energy (Charges — Excise) Bill 2011, Clean Energy Regulator Bill 2011, Climate Change Authority Bill 2011; Second Reading
9:28 pm
Michael Ronaldson (Victoria, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Veterans' Affairs) Share this | Hansard source
I find this touchiness quite fascinating. It is, of course, driven by the polls, which show the minister and every other Labor senator behind the minister what the impact of this toxic tax is. Everyone who is No. 3 on the ticket over there is extraordinarily nervous about what the polling is saying because there is a fair chance they will not be back here. They have got into bed with the Australian Greens and they have been conned into a policy that at least half of those on the other side will tell you in private is a bad policy and a rotten policy, and they simply do not want it. If the minister is concerned about quotes, she might like to listen to this one again. This quote is going to determine the demise of this very bad government—probably the worst government. When people are talking about this government as being worse than the Whitlam government you know it is a diabolical failure.
Senator Wong interjecting—
Every time the minister interjects in a second reading debate like this she diminishes any intellectual rigour that she might attempt to bring to the debate, and she demeans herself. I am a bit surprised, but I understand the enormous pressure that the minister is under.
The statement to the Ten Network on 16 August 2010 was:
There will be no carbon tax under the government I lead.
I am wondering, now the minister is here—she has been very happy to interject for the past 10 minutes—through you, Mr Acting Deputy President: Minister, are they indeed words used by your leader? Yes, they are.
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