Greg Combet (Charlton, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Climate Change and Energy Efficiency) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you, Mr Speaker. This morning, 13 of Australia's most prominent economists, including the former Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank and a number of financial market economists, came out strongly in support of a carbon price. In an open letter, the economists declared that a price on carbon pollution is 'a necessary and desirable structural reform of the Australian economy'. Westpac's Chief Economist, Bill Evans, who was a signatory to the letter, had this to say:

The move to more efficient, cleaner energy through a well designed market mechanism to price carbon is a major and desirable structural and economic reform which will help Australia competitively position in a global low carbon economy.

These are important and well-respected economists who are expressing what really should be obvious common economic sense. It is astonishing that this is a contested issue in national politics. The government is of course committed to taking action on climate change by introducing a carbon price, and we have made clear that more than half the revenue from the carbon price will be used to assist households—in particular, low- and middle-income households—with any price impacts they may face. As the Prime Minister has indicated, one option for delivering that household assistance is to provide tax cuts and increased payments to pensioners and others. Of course last night the Nationals Senate leader, Senator Joyce, confirmed that a coalition government would repeal any tax cuts, pension increases and household assistance measures provided under the carbon price. This is what Senator Joyce had to say:

... of course we've said from the outset that we would not introduce a tax and we'll repeal it if it comes in, and of course if you're repealing the tax, you're repealing the mechanisms that go with it.

Clear and unequivocal—Senator Joyce has confirmed that the coalition would in effect impose a double whammy on pensioners, on families and on ordinary householders. Firstly it would scrap the tax cuts, increases in the pension and increases in family payments introduced by the government, and secondly it would increase taxes by up to $720 a household—

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop interjecting—

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