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

I thank Senator Back for that question. We on this side of the chamber, of course, have said consistently for a very long time that the carbon tax is a bad tax. It is bad for the economy, it is bad for jobs and it does nothing to help reduce global greenhouse gas emissions; it just shifts them overseas. We know, of course, that we have had some very high level support from very senior people in the Labor Party over the years for that proposition, none more so the former Prime Minister Julia Gillard who, in the shadow of the 2010 election, said, 'There will be no carbon tax under a government I lead.'

Senator Lines interjecting—

Senator Lines has invited me to remind the chamber that Senator Pratt—she who cannot be found in this chamber all week—went to the last election in Western Australia and said that Kevin Rudd and Labor had removed the carbon tax. Then we had Senator Bishop, who said after the election that the carbon tax is bad and Labor should drop it. Very sensible, Senator Bishop, and very sad that you are not contesting the next election.

Today, on the day the Labor Party votes against our legislation to scrap the carbon tax, we have had another Labor luminary come out into the public debate. There is a gentleman who might not be well known to the chamber: Joe Bullock. He is the Don Farrell of the Labor Party in Western Australia. This is what he had to say in The West Australian today: 'Labor is scrapping the carbon tax.' This is taking things to a new level. We used to have the Labor Party saying one thing before the election and doing the other straight after the election. Now we have the Labor Party saying one thing before the election and doing the exact opposite on the very same day that the statement is made. The Labor Party is clearly totally confused. It is time that the good people on the right side of the Labor Party stood up for what is in the national interest. (Time expired)