Greg Hunt (Flinders, Liberal Party, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for the Environment and Heritage) Share this | Hansard source

Let me deal with this debate in three stages. I want to put it in the context of, firstly, what is real and, secondly, how their way is the wrong way. If you focus on a demand management process which is utterly artificial and is aimed at driving down emissions by slashing demand for petrol and energy, then what you will do is very simple. You will only do this because they are inelastic goods or because people will not cut their consumption easily. (Quorum formed) This debate is about, on the one hand, targeting polluters and, on the other hand, punishing pensioners. That is what will come from Labor’s approach, and it will come very clearly, because inevitably their actions will lead to a direct impact on prices for heating, energy and petrol in a dramatic way. Let us never forget that their chosen tool and approach will be a means which attacks demand in order to drive down emissions. It relies on driving down the demand and, in order to drive down the demand, because they are inelastic goods, they are going to have to ratchet up these prices and hurt the people who are most vulnerable in our society—farmers, low-income earners, families and pensioners. We compare that—

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