George Christensen (Dawson, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

The clock is ticking on the discussion of this matter of public importance, and it should be ticking on the carbon tax too. The carbon tax symbolises the stark difference between what people were told before the last election—that there would be no carbon tax under the government the Prime Minister led—and what people are now having shoved down their necks. It is a symbol of deception, but in reality it is also a hit for Australian working families. The Prime Minister claims that most families will have to pay $9.90 per week, but I can assure the Prime Minister and government members opposite that families in my electorate are going to be paying a lot more than that under the carbon tax.

Deloittes says that Mackay will be basically ground zero—the hardest-hit region in the hardest-hit state in Australia. As a result of the carbon tax, Mackay families will be paying, for their high use of electricity through air conditioners, somewhere around $10 a week, if you use the figure of a 20 per cent rise in energy costs that the energy providers are saying the carbon tax will cause. That is just the start. Families will also have to fork out for council rate rises. Rates are a huge impost on many families, and the Deputy Mayor of Mackay claims there will be a two per cent rate rise. That is why local people in the Dawson region do not want this carbon tax. They want it repealed. I have a petition here from 1,100 signatories calling for an election on the carbon tax. That is the least the government can do. I seek leave to table that petition.

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