Joe Hockey (North Sydney, Liberal Party, Shadow Treasurer) Share this | Hansard source

I withdraw unreservedly. It is as simple as this: the Treasurer said less than 30 days ago that the budget would be neutral in terms of the effect of the carbon tax; today we discover it is going to cost $4 billion. We thought it was a thousand companies; today it is 500. We were of the understanding that the government was going to take weeks and months to sort this out; now it appears that it is all happening on Sunday. This is not the way to run a country. It is like a bad episode of Bewitched. The problem is that the Treasurer is old Darrin, the one who does not know what is going on. And he has a hostile mother-in-law, old Agnes. Do you remember Agnes? She makes something appear then disappear. The budget is going to be neutral then all of a sudden it is going to cost $4 billion. There are 1000 companies and then all of a sudden there are 500 companies. Old Darrin does not know what is going on. I loved that show. We all loved Darrin's confusion. The only problem is that Darrin is the Treasurer of Australia. The only problem is that old 'Durwood', as Agnes used to call him, is the Deputy Prime Minister.

An opposition member: Endora.

Endora, that's right! Agnes Moorehead—we miss her. I would say this: when you look at the details and lack of confidence in the Australian community, you say to yourself, 'How has it happened so quickly?' With the best terms of trade in 140 years, you would think that Australia is doing well. With an unemploy­ment rate of 4.9 per cent and more full-time jobs created, you would think every Australian would think they are doing well. But the fact is that this tax will affect the things that Australians need, not what they want. It may have little impact on computers, it may have little impact on the cost of purchasing a TV, but it will have a direct, immediate impact on the cost of electricity, something every Australian family has to buy. It will have an immediate impact on the cost of housing, something Australians need. It will have an impact on the cost of water because pumping water to people's homes costs money. It will have an impact on the plumber and the electrician. It will have an impact on the builder's labourer and it will have an impact on the brickie. It will have an impact right cross the economy, on the things that people need on a daily basis.

As the Leader of the Opposition pointed out, if this tax is meant to have any impact on the environment, it has to hurt people. The government would have you believe that this is not going to hurt, but the truth is that it is going to hurt the Australian economy at a time when Australia cannot afford it. It will be the biggest economy-wide tax on carbon in the world. If it is not the biggest today, it will be in three, four or five years.

Now the true agenda has been revealed. If the Prime Minister does not know what is happening in her government, if the Treasu­rer does not know what is happening in his government, if the member for New England or the member for Lyne do not know what is going on, it proves that what we have said is true—that the Greens are in power and the Greens are running the country. Sadly, that is a poor reflection on this mob.

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