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

To the member who asked the question, jobs will grow under carbon pricing. I refer him to the Treasury modelling. Jobs will grow under carbon pricing. He may have listened to the Leader of the Opposition's fear campaigning. He may have swallowed the line that whole towns will be wiped off the map, that there will not be coal mined anymore, that everybody will apparently be living in a cave with no electricity, unable to afford food—and the ridiculous stuff just goes on and on and on and on. The member may have swallowed the Leader of the Opposition's fear campaign, he may have done that, but it does not equal the facts.

To the member who raises this question, I do understand that there is concern in his region about carbon pricing. I genuinely understand that. He would also understand that, as a government, we are working with his region, working through the implications and we are very determined that, unlike the time when the state Liberal government forced his region into a transition with no assistance and no support, we will be there working with the community because we want to see people having the benefit of jobs. If you look at the whole of the carbon pricing package you see jobs continuing to grow and you also see us working with specific industries and with specific regions.

As we leave this parliamentary session we are moving towards a time where the truth about putting a price on carbon will become increasingly clearly, where people will see—

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