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

I was about to point out that we do have a special stream of funds to assist not-for-profit organisations. Of course, because the Leader of the Opposition broadly raised other entities, I am explaining the household assistance package and the fact that people who are members of those organisations will receive money in the form of tax cuts, family payments or pension increases, and there are billions of dollars of support for jobs.

Specifically on the flights he raises, I draw his attention to the dedicated funding stream under the Low Carbon Communities Program to provide payments to charities to offset the carbon costs they will face for—and these are important words—aviation and maritime transport fuel to assist them. That has specifically been done because we do not want vital services like medical air services to face additional fuel costs from the introduction of a carbon price. So the Leader of the Opposition has raised with me a broad set of circumstances. That is the set of circumstances in relation to not-for-profit organisations and care flights, for example. The set of circumstances for members of sporting clubs is about tax cuts, family payment increases and pension increases, and there are also billions of dollars in support for jobs through the Jobs and Competitiveness Program. This is all a very sharp contrast to the plan of the Leader of the Opposition, which is ill thought out, which would be incredibly costly to the economy and would impose on each family a bill of $1,300.

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