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

I thank the member for his question. It is very similar to one that I have answered in the past in relation to Qantas when it made some announcements and the answer is the same. Virgin Australia will not face any carbon price on its international operations in Australia. There will be a modest impact from the carbon price on its domestic operations. The nature of the impact is comparable to what has been announced by Qantas and I remind the House of those Qantas figures. I understand that the opposition is trying to yell at this point because they know they do not want these figures on the public record because they bring the scare campaign to an end.

It has been announced by Qantas that for zones of 900 kilometres or less, we are talking about $1.50 in impact, and so it goes on. If it is less than 2,000 kilometres, $3 on the average ticket price. That has been modelled in to the CPI impact of putting a price on carbon to 0.7 per cent. We have responded to that by increasing family payments, increasing pensions and cutting tax. To give the House the figures for that—and I know the opposition will not be interested in benefits to working families—there will be pensioners who end up in front as a result of the amount of money that comes to them in the increase in their pension. They will end up better off. We want to see pensioners better off; I understand the opposition does not.

There will be family payments increases in order to assist people with children—once again, a benefit to working families—and there will be tax cuts for Australians who earn less than $80,000 a year. Many of them will see a tax cut—

See this speech in context