Anne Ruston (SA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Finance, Senator Cormann, representing the minister for the Environment. Can the minister advise the Senate if the carbon tax has been repealed? If not, why not?

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

I thank Senator Ruston for that question. I regret to inform the Senate that the carbon tax has not been repealed. The reason it has not been repealed is because the Labor Party again joined in with the Greens to vote against the repeal of the carbon tax, in defiance of the judgement made by the Australian people. They are very cocky over there, jumping up and down and saying, 'Everybody knows it's not been repealed'. Not everybody on the Labor side seems to know that the carbon tax has been repealed. This is the tax that every single member of the Labor Party campaigned that we would never get. They said there would never be a carbon tax under a government led by Julia Gillard

Then of course we had Kevin Rudd coming back as Prime Minister saying that he has removed the carbon tax. We had Senator Pratt putting out pamphlets in Western Australia—

Honourable Senators:

Honourable senators interjecting—

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

Senator Cormann, resume your seat. When there is silence we will proceed.

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

I understand why Labor are touchy, because they are doing the wrong thing against the national interest. We had Senator Pratt say that Labor have already removed the carbon tax. Then of course we had her successor, Senator-elect Bullock, go to Western Australia and say that Labor is voting to repeal the carbon tax, on the very same day that Labor was voting to keep it, here in this chamber. We had the truth-teller from Western Australia, Senator Bishop, out there saying that Labor should get rid of the carbon tax, but then, not to be outdone, the shadow minister, Mr Butler, on Sunday said:

We do support the abolition of the carbon tax.

Wait for this:

We voted to abolish the carbon tax in the Senate … So, we're not voting to support the carbon tax.

It is time that Labor stopped misleading the Australian people. If you are against the carbon tax, vote to get rid of it.

Anne Ruston (SA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. Can the minister please further inform the Senate: what savings can be passed on to households and businesses once the carbon tax is repealed?

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

Here they are, all cocky and jumping up and down. Of course we are keeping the carbon tax. Their shadow minister Mr Butler went on television to say:

We do support the abolition of the carbon tax. We voted to abolish the carbon tax in the Senate … So, we're not voting to support the carbon tax.

and you, here in this chamber, did the exact opposite. Of course, families across Australia could be saving $550 a year, on average—a lower cost of living—at a time when people could very much do with that help. Household average electricity bills would be around $200 lower than they otherwise would be.

Honourable Senators:

Honourable senators interjecting—

Senator Cameron interjecting—

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

Senator Cormann, resume your seat. Senator Cameron, I remind you that interjections are disorderly.

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

I have to say that again. The cost of living for the average family would go down by $550 a year. Their electricity costs would be $200 a year lower than they otherwise would be. Gas bills would be $70 lower a year than they otherwise would be. Of course, the Labor Party, which wants to have it both ways, is voting to keep these costs imposed on families. (Time expired)

Anne Ruston (SA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a further supplementary question. Can the minister advise the Senate whether the carbon tax is set to increase on 1 July despite opposition claims that it has been abolished?

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

Senator Ruston, that is a very good question, because the carbon tax that the Labor Party voted to keep, even though they are telling everyone they are against it and they want to abolish it—in fact, Senator Pratt said they had already abolished it—continues to go up and up every year. In the first year it was $23 a tonne. It was to raise $7.6 billion. Then, from 1 July 2013, it went up by five per cent to $24.15 a tonne, and on 1 July 2014, a couple of weeks away, it is due to go up again by another five per cent. This is the tax that the Labor Party is telling the Australian people they are opposed to. It is the tax that Julia Gillard said we were never going to have. It is the tax that Labor senator after Labor senator from Western Australia said they were going to get rid of, on the same day that Labor in this chamber was voting to keep it. It is time that Labor remembered the national interest and it is time that Labor stopped misleading the Australian people.