Greg Combet (Charlton, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Climate Change and Energy Efficiency) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Makin once again. We have heard all about the deceit, and there will be plenty more of it to be revealed as the carbon price is implemented from 1 July. But perhaps the most reprehensible part of this deceitful campaign has been the opposition leader's attempts to exploit the anxiety of working people by threatening them about their jobs. Yesterday the opposition was at it yet again—Senator Brandis in particular. Up in the Senate, he directly attributed the loss of 1,900 jobs in Fairfax Media to the introduction of a carbon price in a totally deceitful, dishonest and completely untrue statement that he has still not withdrawn.

It is a complete disgrace, because everyone knows—and certainly all of the staff at Fairfax know very well—that digital technology is putting massive pressure on print media. The carbon price has absolutely nothing to do with the changes at Fairfax, just as the carbon price had nothing to do with the decision of Norsk Hydro to close the aluminium smelter at Kurri Kurri. It was not related to that issue, just as it has had nothing to do with the loss of jobs at Qantas or anywhere else. These people opposite relish the news of job losses so that they can blame them on the carbon price, and it is a disgrace.

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