George Brandis (Queensland, Liberal Party, Shadow Attorney-General) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is directed to the Minister representing the Prime Minister, Senator Evans. Is the minister aware that today is the second anniversary of Mr Wayne Swan's vehement denial, in the final week of the 2010 election campaign, that a re-elected Labor government would introduce a carbon tax, and of his description of the suggestion that Labor would introduce a carbon tax as a 'hysterical allegation'. Why does the government feel so free to break its most solemn commitments to the Australian people?

Honourable Senators:

Honourable senators interjecting—

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

Order! On both sides, when there is silence we will proceed. If you wish to debate the issue, debate it after question time.

Chris Evans (WA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It must come as news to Senator Brandis, but this parliament has actually passed legislation introducing a carbon price. It may have gone past Senator Brandis as he focuses on persecuting people without proper hearing in his public comments. We have legislated to introduce a price on carbon. The parliament has passed that legislation and if the senator is not aware, I inform him that on 1 July this year that system came into place. We did that because there had been a series of reports and inquiries over many years that pointed us to the need for that price. I remember Mr Costello, the former Liberal Party Treasurer, advocating for it. And then there was a very fine report done in 2007, which the then Prime Minister John Howard accepted; he argued as a result of that report that we as a nation ought to bring in a price on carbon. So both major parties in this country have for a number of years now supported a price on carbon. But when the Liberal Party ambushed Mr Turnbull, we saw the extreme right wing forces in the Liberal Party overthrow Mr Turnbull and renege on that commitment to climate change policy. We know that now the carbon price is in place the Liberal Party will never repeal it, because they know that, at the end of the day, this is good for the Australian economy. The transition is being made. Appropriate compensation arrangements are being put in place for industry and we know that this is a good thing for the environment and for the Australian economy. (Time expired)

George Brandis (Queensland, Liberal Party, Shadow Attorney-General) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. Given that the introduction of the carbon tax is just another broken promise in the litany of broken promises from this government, including the broken promise to preserve defence spending, the broken promise to retain the private health insurance rebate, the broken promise on gambling reform and the backflip on offshore processing that has so offended the Greens, why should anybody believe anything this Prime Minister or any minister in this government says?

Chris Evans (WA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

That is the second senator working themselves up to outrage in the parliament today. Can I just make it clear that if the senator is interested in me answering a question that is policy based, I am happy to help. But, quite frankly, when you get to the third coalition question of the day, after doing questions about ammunition for reservists, to then come and present outrage—

George Brandis (Queensland, Liberal Party, Shadow Attorney-General) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On a point or order: it was a broad question, but it was a broad question directed to the issue of the government's credibility and its litany of broken promises, but it is not responsive to any part of that question merely to cast reflections on the opposition.

Jacinta Collins (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Parliamentary Secretary for School Education and Workplace Relations) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, on the point of order: again the opposition complains, as they often do, about the answer to a question—in this case a very broad question. Senator Evans is being quite relevant. I suggest that Senator Brandis stops sooking.

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

There is no point of order. The minister has 33 seconds remaining to address the question.

A government senator: Chris Ellison can't stand it anymore.

Chris Evans (WA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I think former Senator Ellison treated the question with the respect to which it was due and left the chamber.

This is the sort of lowbrow political point-scoring you resort to when you have run out of questions. You get to the third question in question time and you try go on about broken promises and so on. It was a broad question; it was a stupid question.

George Brandis (Queensland, Liberal Party, Shadow Attorney-General) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a further supplementary question. Given that we now know what the impact of the carbon tax will be, with massive electricity price increases, business and consumer confidence at continued record lows, and job losses as the world's biggest carbon tax takes its toll across the economy, when will the government stop its hysterical behaviour—

Senator Wong interjecting—

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

Order! I have said it for other people asking questions: they are entitled to be heard in silence.

George Brandis (Queensland, Liberal Party, Shadow Attorney-General) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I see the irony, Mr President, of you calling Senator Wong to order when I was accusing the government of hysterical behaviour. When will the government stop its hysterical behaviour and scrap this tax that is based on a lie?

Chris Evans (WA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The fear campaign of Senator Brandis and the Liberal Party leading up to 1 July fell flat. They are out of material now, because the things that they threatened did not come to pass. But it is disingenuous in the extreme for the Liberal Party now to pretend that the electricity price rises that have occurred in Australia in the last couple of years—over 40 per cent in many states—were driven by the carbon price that was introduced on 1 July. Everyone, apart from the opposition, knows that the small impact of the carbon price was covered by the household assistance and pensioner assistance packages paid by this government. But it is an absolute untruth to claim that the carbon price is driving those electricity price increases. When you run out credible claims you resort to fear, and everyone knows it is untrue. (Time expired)