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

Senator Eggleston is absolutely right. Business finds it very difficult in current economic conditions to pass on the additional cost that has been imposed on them by the Labor Party through the carbon tax that they negotiated with the Greens. If you cannot pass on the costs to consumers, you have to cut jobs. That is why the unemployment rate across Australia is going up. It is going up on the back of a Labor-Greens anti-jobs tax. We might not have Senator Pratt here, because she is campaigning in Western Australia, but we do have Senator Mark Bishop here in the chamber. He is not campaigning in Western Australia. It is a shame that he is not recontesting because, of course, he knows exactly what Labor must do. He made the point: he said that the strong public position of the ALP on the carbon tax was completely rebuffed by the electorate. He further said that the debate is lost for the next decade at least and that it is not possible to persuade the Australian people that their views were incorrect. (Time expired)