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

I believe they would want to see an Australia where we direct our resources to those who need those resources the most, which is why with putting a price on carbon we have deliberately designed the assistance that goes to households so it assists those Australians who need that assistance the most—like pensioners, like people who earn less than $80,000 a year, like families raising children.

I would say to the member that when she contemplates the circumstances of those families she may want to contemplate the alternative that the opposition says it believes in, where more money will need to come from those families to give to the biggest polluters, whilst of course the scheme that this House of Representatives has passed today is a scheme where we get the money from the biggest polluters, creating an incentive for them to reduce their carbon pollution, and use that revenue to assist Australians who need that assistance the most.

I would say more generally to those on the floor of this parliament that the obligation which comes with sitting in this parliament, and it is a heavy obligation, is not to agree with everyone who raises their voice; it is to do the right thing for the nation's future. That is what this House of Representatives has done today.

See this speech in context