Julia Gillard (Lalor, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the Leader of the National Party for his question. He has once again disappointed the Leader of the House, but one of these days I am sure he will make the Leader of the House's day by asking him a question on infrastructure. In answer to the Leader of the National Party's question, we are determined to work with coal as we are determined to work with business generally in order to get the design of carbon pricing right. We will be working to ensure that we are protecting Australian jobs. We are cutting carbon pollution. We are assisting Australian families. We are funding programs that get us ready for the clean energy economy of the future and that tackle climate change.

The Leader of the National Party asks me on these debates about pricing carbon, 'Who takes what position in these debates?' I say to the Leader of the National Party that perhaps he might want to explain to me who the senior Liberal was who said:

You can't take money away from pensioners, it would kill us.

The Leader of the National Party says that he is interested in Australian jobs and the future of the coal industry—

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