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

In answer to the Leader of the National Party, let us just go through the facts, because whenever you go through the facts the opposition's scare campaign falls apart. Fact No. 1: Qantas will not face any carbon price on their international operations in Australia. They will face a carbon price on their domestic operations, that is true. The carbon price will have a very moderate impact on ticket prices. Both Qantas and Virgin put it at around $3 to $3.50 per seat per sector. That is what Qantas and Virgin actually have said. Of course, those price effects have been modelled into the anticipated increase of 0.7 per cent in CPI and, of course, Australians are receiving assistance: tax cuts, family payment increases and pension increases. There are tax cuts for people earning less than $80,000, with many of them to receive a tax cut of around $300. There will be family payment increases for many families caring for children. There will be pension increases that will more than compensate people for the anticipated price effect. This means that there will be households around Australia that come out better off.

The fear for those households is twofold: the Leader of the Opposition's plan to rip out of their hands the tax cuts, family payments and pension increases—

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