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

I thank Senator Dastyari for his cute political point. He served as the state secretary of the Labor Party in New South Wales, so I am sure he knows very well that the ultimate judge and jury in relation to the accuracy, relevance and appropriateness of statements made by members of parliament is the Australian people. The Australian people made a judgement on 7 September. And guess what? You lost, and people voted against your carbon tax.

Senator Dastyari would be well aware that the ACCC has power over corporations, not individuals. That is not a new development; it has always been the us. So I am not sure whether that was supposed to be a trick question or he is suggesting to the Senate that he has made some unbelievable discovery that no-one has ever heard of before. Just to be very clear: the ACCC has always been an organisation that has powers in relation to the conduct of corporations rather than the conduct of individuals.

I also reject some of the other assertions—that there is no power for the government to do anything in relation to price exploitation by anyone other than energy suppliers. Senator Dastyari clearly has not read the explanatory memorandum—and Senator Milne, Senator Singh and Senator Lines clearly have not read it. You are just coming in here with prepared talking points and questions that have been provided by Mr Shorten's office. There is a capacity in the bill—it is very transparent and there for all to see—to extend section 60(1) to other sectors if problems were to emerge. We do not believe there is any evidence that there would be problems emerging. But this capacity—along with the competitive pressures in the marketplace that I have already mentioned before—is a clear incentive for businesses across Australia to do the right thing and reduce prices. The ACCC and the government will of course continue to monitor what all businesses do.

We have got to remind the chamber that it is Labor's carbon tax that pushed up the cost of electricity, it is Labor's carbon tax that pushed up the price of gas, it is Labor's carbon tax that pushed up the cost of living, it is Labor's carbon tax that pushed up the cost of doing business in Australia. We have already had statements from all of the relevant price regulators when it comes to electricity and a whole series of private sector energy suppliers that they will pass on the savings that come from scrapping the carbon tax. We are very confident that on the Treasury modelling, which was based on the same methodology as the modelling done when Labor claimed a $380 saving from modifying the carbon tax, we will be able to deliver a $550-a-year saving from scrapping it.