Wayne Swan (Lilley, Australian Labor Party, Treasurer) Share this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, I was asked about the town of Wandoan, which I know. I was asked about that region. Not only is it a great agricultural region; it produces coal as well. People who live there depend for their living on one or the other of those industries. They will receive the assistance which we will put in place for a carbon price. The households there will receive through our scheme additional assistance in terms of tax cuts, in terms of pension increases and also in terms of family payments to compensate for the price impact of a price on carbon. They will all benefit from that—but not only that. It is a great coal producing region and no industry has a greater stake in putting a price on carbon than the coal industry. If we do not move in this area, they will be subject to trade barriers in a carbon constrained world.

The coal industry in this country has a very bright future and it will be even brighter if we price carbon, if we make sure that we drive investment not just in renewable energy but particularly in carbon capture and storage—to get the innovation, to make the future of the industry even brighter and the future brighter in Wandoan for all of the Queenslanders and Australians who live there.

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