Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Finance) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Eggleston for that question. He is a passionate advocate for stronger growth and more jobs in our home state of Western Australia. Mr President, the carbon tax hurts families in Western Australia. It hurts business in Western Australia. It is an anti-Western Australian tax. It is a tax which pushes up the cost of electricity, pushes up the cost of gas, pushes up the cost of living for families and pensioners, and pushes up the cost of doing business—and all of that without doing anything to help reduce global greenhouse gas emissions. All it does is shift emissions from Australia to other parts of the world. People in Australia and, in particular, in Western Australia are being asked to make a sacrifice for something that does not make a difference. It is a shame.

I see that Senator Pratt is not in the chamber today. I wonder what Senator Pratt would be doing right now. I wonder whether Senator Pratt is out in Western Australia campaigning against the carbon tax. We know that, in the lead-up to the last election, Senator Pratt inaccurately and dishonestly told the Western Australian people that Kevin Rudd and Labor had already removed the carbon tax. This is what Senator Pratt told people in Western Australia before the last election: Kevin Rudd and Labor have removed the carbon tax, saving the average family $380. But, of course, the Labor Party in this chamber continues to vote to keep it. Maybe that is why Senator Pratt is in Western Australia—because she does not want to be associated with what Labor is doing in this chamber. Or is she going to tell the truth to the good people of Western Australia in the lead-up to this election—and that is that she is telling people in WA one thing, and doing the exact opposite here in the Senate? The carbon tax must go— (Time expired)