Brett Mason (Queensland, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Universities and Research) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister representing the Minister for Climate Change and Energy Efficiency, Senator Wong. I refer the minister to a Bligh government commis­sioned report tabled in the Queensland parliament yesterday showing that my home state's growth will be cut by 2.76 per cent to the year 2020 under a carbon tax compared to federal Treasury's initial estimate of a reduction of just 0.3 per cent. How can the minister claim that this tax is good for Queensland and for Australia?

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Finance and Deregulation) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

We believe pricing carbon is good for this country's future for the same reasons that John Howard did when he committed to introducing a price on carbon—something you voted against despite that so-called election mandate. The reasons are these: to continue to be a first-rate economy you have to be a clean energy economy, and the way you move to a clean energy economy is to price carbon. Those on the other side would pretend to the Australian people that they have a plan to deal with climate change. What they have is a massive taxpayer funded, bureaucratically managed, govern­ment-picking-winners scheme that will not achieve the outcome it is supposed to but will impose a cost on Australian families.

In relation to the modelling, I would invite the senator to look at the totality of the modelling which I think he is referring to. He talked about a report. I assume he is talking about the modelling which we discussed yesterday. It shows that Queensland's gross state product continues to grow strongly under a carbon price, 3.5 per cent above the national average, that over 470,000 new jobs will be created and that real wages will continue to grow. The Queensland economy will continue to grow. What this shows us is that our economy can continue to grow, our jobs can continue to grow and our incomes can continue to grow with a carbon price. Those are the facts in the face of the unfair scaremongering campaign that those opposite are engaged in. It is really extraordinary when you see some senators in this place who used to advocate for a carbon price now jumping aboard the scare­mongering campaign. (Time expired)

Brett Mason (Queensland, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Universities and Research) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

That wasn't me, Penny. Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. Given that the authors of the report, Deloitte Access Economics, are yet another in a long list of experts to reject the Gillard government's wildly optimistic assumptions about an emissions trading scheme being embraced internationally, how can the minister justify imposing a tax on the people of Queensland and Australia whose impact, reach and severity are unmatched by any other government in the world?

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Finance and Deregulation) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I do not accept the premise of the last part of that question at all. I think it is just extraordinary that senators who used to support a price on carbon come into this place and start to make a range of assertions about the sky falling in. The reality is that we can continue in Queensland and across Australia to increase our incomes, to grow our economy and to increase jobs with a carbon price. But the difference is that the carbon price will ensure there is an incentive for people to invest in clean energy and clean energy technology. It is about a transition that the coalition simply do not want to front up to. We can continue to grow jobs, grow our economy and grow our incomes with a carbon price.

Brett Mason (Queensland, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Universities and Research) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a further supplementary question. Will the Queensland economy, according to this report, grow more slowly because of the imposition of a carbon tax?

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Finance and Deregulation) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

We have put out our modelling and it makes very clear that the economy can continue to grow. The interesting question for a Queensland senator would be: does he accept any amount of impact on his state from climate change?

The reality is that we know there are a great many aspects of not only Queensland but across Australia that will be affected by climate change—our economy and our society. I would invite those opposite to look at what scientists tell us about—

Brett Mason (Queensland, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Universities and Research) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rarely take points of order, but I did ask specifically whether the report said that the Queensland economy would grow more slowly than it otherwise would because of the imposition of a carbon tax. The question is quite specific.

Joe Ludwig (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Manager of Government Business in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On the point of order, the minister has been answering the question. The point of order does not go to the substance of what the matter is, other than simply repeating the question. I assume the point of order concerned whether or not the answer was directly relevant, although it is unclear from the point of order taken. But the minister has been directly relevant to the question asked and has been answering the question.

Eric Abetz (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Nobody can suggest she has been directly relevant.

Joe Ludwig (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Manager of Government Business in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Those opposite are unruly, but from the government's perspective there is no point of order.

John Hogg (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The minister still has 22 seconds remaining to address the question.

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Finance and Deregulation) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

As I was saying, I would have hoped that the Senator would recognise the risk that climate change poses to his state's economy and to the broader Australian community. Presumably, that is why he supports the coalition's direct action policy, which achieves the same outcome at higher cost to the Australian economy, including Queensland. (Time expired)