Bob Baldwin (Paterson, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Tourism) Share this | Hansard source

I withdraw unreservedly. But on Monday, if he does not come into the House and correct the record, I will put it to the Privileges Committee for examination. Deputy Speaker, there are 344 workers on top of the 150 that have already gone in Kurri. Will this parliamentary secretary go out there and meet them? No, he will not. Will the Minister for Climate Change and Energy Efficiency stand up for his constituents? No, he will not. Because this government and, in particular the Minister for Climate Change and Energy Efficiency, are like an episode of Fawlty Towers. The Minister for Climate Change and Energy Efficiency plays the role of Basil so well. Just don't mention the war. Don't mention the carbon tax, don't mention the war. It is an episode of Fawlty Towers. The sad reality is that Fawlty Towers is actually funny; this government is not, and the impacts of the decisions of this government will affect our nation dramatically.

In fact, modelling that was done will show that by 2050 Australia's aluminium industry could be slashed by 60 per cent and New South Wales Treasury estimates 18½ thousand job losses from the Hunter due to the carbon tax, and they have started. We can remember the Minister for Climate Change and Energy Efficiency during the waterfront dispute, standing with those workers—workers united will never be divided—standing up for their jobs. But when given the opportunity to stand up for the jobs of those people—some who live in the electorate of the minister and some who live in the electorates of the members for Hunter, Shortland and Newcastle and in my electorate—these members talk the talk but when it comes to walking the walk, the only thing they do is walk away. One would think they are like people who stand by conviction and beat their chest and deliver ultimatums. I would point to an ABC media interview just over a year ago, on 15 April 2011, when the national secretary of the Australian Workers Union, Paul Howes, warned this government, 'If one job is gone, our support for the carbon tax is gone.' Now, I expect it to be repealed 344 times because just in our patch that will be 344 jobs gone. But will Mr Howes now stand up to this government? Of course he will not, because he is one of the people who installed this Prime Minister—the same Prime Minister who promised there would be no carbon tax under the government that she led. What we are seeing is an episode of Fawlty Towers. Just do not mention the war, do not mention the carbon tax. It is disgraceful.

I turn for a moment to my own portfolio of tourism. We have asked this government many times, through Senate estimates and directly of the Prime Minister: what modelling have you done on a carbon tax and its implications for the tourism industry? There has been none—no modelling. Let me point to modelling that was done by one of the industry associations, the Tourism and Transport Forum, whose modelling in the submission they put to this government said that if you bring a carbon tax in 6,400 jobs would go. These are working families that this Prime Minister talks about wanting to support, but she is prepared to see, in the tourism industry alone, 6,400 jobs go.

They also said that the economic hit would be around $750 million off the bottom line. This is an industry that is already in financial trouble. They are going to have the carbon tax—oh, sorry; don't mention the war—imposed upon them. Qantas have said that the implications to them are around $150 million next year. Virgin have said that the cost implications to them are $45 million. People like Quicksilver and other cruise operators up on the Great Barrier Reef have said their cost impact in the fuel price increases alone will be $250,000 a year. This mob opposite do not understand business. If they understood business they would understand that we are actually in price-point-sensitive markets. The aluminium industry is a price-point-sensitive market but nowhere as much as the tourism industry. Now, a lot of those operators who are going to suffer this cost impost on 1 July have already forward-sold bookings for months and months to come on fixed prices. They cannot just lift their price because of the carbon tax, and what I fear is that even more jobs will go.

Members opposite, particularly those in the Hunter where these jobs will go—and this will only be the beginning—have an opportunity to come into this House next week and move a bill that will suspend the carbon tax until at least after the next election when people, like those 344 workers at Kurri who are going to go, will have a chance to say what they think, and it is about time this government started to listen. Those members opposite who represent tourism electorates have an opportunity to come in here and stand up for their workers who are going to lose their jobs. This mob over there are very good at talking the talk. They are outstanding at talking the talk, but when it comes to walking the walk the only thing they ever do is walk away from the workers. We have seen it from the minister for climate change, who when he was not in power championed the case for the workers but when he gets here says, 'Oh, sorry.' There are all these excuses, but just do not mention the war. Well, let me tell you, there is a war. The coalition is fighting a war to save jobs. The government is fighting a war to kill off jobs and they should be condemned for it.

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