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

A delay in scrapping the carbon tax means that electricity prices will be higher than they otherwise would be. It means that the cost of living for families and pensioners will be higher than it otherwise would be. It means that the cost of doing business in Western Australia will be higher than it otherwise would be. And of course we know that Senator Bishop, Senator Sterle, Senator Pratt and that likely wannabe Senator Joe Bullock all want Labor to get rid of the carbon tax. Why doesn't Labor get out of the way and let us do the right thing in the national interest? We know that Bill Shorten privately and in his heart would like to scrap the carbon tax, but clearly he is not strong enough to stand up for the national interest. He is not strong enough to stare down the Greens and people like Kim Carr and Senator Wong—the left of the Labor Party—