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

In answer to the shadow Treasurer's question, clearly the government accounts for its budget through the budget in May and through the Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook, and we will in the mid-year outlook provide a further accounting in relation to carbon pricing. The figures are there for people to see from the announcement we made shortly after parliament rose.

What I would also say to the shadow Treasurer is that, and perhaps he will want to do it on the same time frame, he may want to provide full accounting to the Australian people about how he will account for his plans on pricing carbon and particularly how he will fill the $70 billion black hole.

The shadow Treasurer raised the question of honesty. There are some things that the opposition does not talk about. For example, I doubt that when the Leader of the Opposition addressed the rally today that he talked about his $1,300 slug on families. I doubt when he addressed the rally today he talked about the fact that, under the government's plan, more than four million households will be better off and he intends to take that money away. I would be interested to know whether the Leader of the Opposition, when he addressed the rally today, indicated to the people at the rally that his target to cut carbon pollution is the same as the government's at minus five per cent or did he, as he has been known to in the past, find this a convenient occasion to dump his target and not back it in? The shadow Treasurer talks about honesty and talks about being held to account. I believe that the opposition has an obligation in all circumstances to be honest about its $1,300 slug on families and I believe it has an obligation to account for the $70 billion black hole.

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