Bob Baldwin (Paterson, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Tourism) Share this | Hansard source

We have just heard a speech from the Minister for Regional Australia, Regional Development and Local Government, a man who claims he travels so much around Australia. He might have travelled around Australia but he has not listened to regional Australia, because regional Australia, by and large, says no to a climate tax.

The matter of public importance before the House today is:

The social and economic impact of the carbon tax on regional Australia.

This tax will hit regional Australia harder than any other area. It will hit regional and rural Australia harder than it will hit those who live in the capital cities. We know because we go there; we come from there. We have more members in regional and rural Australia than the government and that is why we understand the arguments.

Australians have faced massive increases in the cost of living under this Labor government. Electricity has gone up by more than 50 per cent in their term, gas is up 30 per cent, the cost of water and sewerage is up 45 per cent, health costs are up 20 per cent, education costs are up 24 per cent and food is up 14 per cent. The cost of paying these bills and doing the weekly shopping has become so much higher under this Gillard government. Why does the Labor govern­ment want to make everything so much more expensive? Why do they want to make things even more expensive with a carbon tax? It is because the Prime Minister is beholden to the radical agenda of the Greens.

Quite frankly, the Greens do not give a stuff about people living in regional and rural Australia. This carbon tax is one of those poorly thought out, fringe party policies that seeks to please the few by harming the majority. It is an embarrassment for this Prime Minister and the Labor Party that not only has a carbon tax become the policy of a major political party, it has become the centrepiece of their government. As the Productivity Commission, a statutory author­ity of the Commonwealth, found recently, there is not a single other country—not one—which is planning to impose an economy wide carbon tax. There is a reason for that—it is not good policy.

I was contacted recently by a small-business owner who employs 10 staff as the operator of a 24-room motel in the Hunter electorate. The member for Hunter's constituent wrote to me and said:

Our electricity price has been progressively increasing. As we are a motel, our guests often do not really care how much power they are consuming, as they do not pay the bill. We have increased our room tariffs, however, looking at this year's financial figures to date our operating costs have increased more than we have been able to recoup through price increases. What worries me is that particularly being in a regional area, it is difficult to keep increasing rates, as people are only prepared to pay so much. I fear the uncertainty of this proposed tax, and worry that it could spell the end of many small businesses, who will find it difficult to pass on the increases, and simply do not have the capital to invest in alternative power solutions.

Why does the member for Hunter support Labor's carbon tax when it will have such a devastating impact on his constituents?

I was contacted today by Joe Sepos from JS Transport Group in the member for Newcastle's electorate. JS Transport are a major livestock, chicken and general cargo transport operation. He said to me that he is concerned that Labor's carbon tax will push up the costs of his trucking business and that that will flow through to the everyday costs of everything on supermarket shelves, everything we buy. He believes the carbon tax will put up prices by at least five per cent because that is what he thinks it will increase the cost base of his business by.

As I said, those costs will flow through the supply chain right to the kitchen table. What this government does not seem to understand is that the tyranny of distance means that Labor's carbon tax will hit the kitchen tables in regional Australia so much harder. Goods are transported by trucks everywhere across Australia. Everything we use and everything we consume is transported by trucks. This government's decision to put a tax on the diesel used by heavy trucks will drive up prices—and they are going to be so proud of that!

What makes Labor's carbon tax on regional Australia even more offensive is that it will come with no environmental outcome. Between 2000 and 2008, the cost of electricity in Australia rose by 55.9 per cent. Over that same period, consumption rose by 10 per cent—from 10,194 kilowatt hours per capita to 11,217 kilowatt hours per capita. So where is the link between pushing up the price of electricity and reducing consumption? It is not there. These are statistics; these are not lies or inferences. You cannot cut back on the essentials of life and this insidious Labor tax grab will not reduce emissions one iota. It will only reduce affordability for people living in regional Australia.

Labor members in steel electorates, coal electorates and in motor and other manuf­acturing electorates know that jobs will go under this tax, but they are too frightened to admit it. Businesses have warned them and the unions have warned them, but they are too frightened to admit it. One day, however, they are going to have to front their electorates and explain why jobs have gone. They will have to answer the questions that their electorates will ask them about the electricity price hikes, the food price hikes and the grocery price hikes. The whole point of the carbon tax—and let us be very clear about this—is to drive up prices to reduce consumption.

In question time today, the member for Forrest asked the Treasurer about the cost impact of the carbon tax on a dairy farmer, Graham Manning, in her electorate. Do you know what? The Treasurer would not answer the question. She asked about the increased cost of electricity because electricity is a major cost for a dairy farmer—in refrig­eration and in operating their dairy facilities. The only thing I can see happening with this carbon tax, in regional Australia in particular, is jobs being driven away from our region.

There are some people who need to come in here and explain things to this parliament. The member for Capricornia has 2,000 coalminers in her electorate to explain to, the members for Corangamite and Corio have 1,300 car workers to explain to, the member for Hunter has 2,700 coal workers to explain to, the members for Throsby and Cunning­ham have 2,000 coal workers to explain to, the member for Throsby has a further 5,300 steelworkers to explain to, the member for Wakefield has 2,700 car workers to explain to, the member for Lingiari has 850 aluminium workers to explain to and the member for Bass has 560 aluminium workers to explain to. Those 17,410 workers in regional Australia do not have a voice on the Labor side. They are taken for granted.

I want to reassure those in the gallery of one thing: the coalition and the Labor government have the same target—five per cent by 2020. The difference is that the government wants to penalise and tax and shift money around.

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