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

I thank the member for his question. Let me explain to the member that coverage decisions have been made which do reduce the number of big businesses who will be paying the price for their carbon pollution. The biggest 500 polluters will be, under the scheme, required to pay a price for the carbon pollution they generate. Our plan is to make polluters pay. The Leader of the Opposition's plan is to make Australian families pay. So, in making those decisions about coverage, the number of big polluters who will be paying has been reduced. I would have to say that I detect a theme across the opposition's questions today. I detect an emerging theme. There are some days when you come in here and you have absolutely no idea what they are on about, but today I can tell what they are on about. They are on about their sense of disappoint­ment because they have spent months and months and months trying to raise fear about carbon pricing. Now I think we can see written on their faces, as more and more details become clear about the scheme, that they can feel it. They can feel that their scare campaign is not going to be able to be sustained.

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