Luke Hartsuyker (Cowper, National Party, Deputy Manager of Opposition Business in the House) Share this | Hansard source

Or the diesel used to transport it. What we are going to see is a rise in the cost of petrol and a rise in the cost of diesel because of the carbon tax imposed by this government.

Transport industries are doing it tough. I was talking to Graeme Nicholson, from Nicholson & Page Transport in Maclean, who told me that the additional cost of the carbon tax will hit his small trucking operation hard. He said: 'It might be all right for road freight companies with the benefit of large, diversified logistics and storage operations but for smaller operators solely focused on long-haul transport the impact on their bottom line would be significant.' These operators are also facing an increase in the road user charge from this government. This government does not have a clue about the impact of this tax and the impact of increased costs on small business.

We need to encourage small business. I heard the minister talk about a range of government measures allegedly to assist small business. The best thing this government could do is not to implement this tax. The best thing this government could do is to call an election and hand over to someone who can run the economy—hand over to the opposition, because we could restore business confidence. We could restore consumer confidence, because they are concerned about your competence. One of the biggest factors in the economy at the moment is that the Australian people do not believe this government has the capacity to make the correct decisions on behalf of Australia. That is being reflected right throughout the economy.

We see people in small business doing their very best to keep their costs down. We see this government doing their very best to push costs up. On 1 July in my electorate we will see electricity prices increase by almost 20 per cent, half of which is due to this government's carbon tax. We have to encourage small business. We have to assist small business in what it does best—that is, employing people and creating wealth, particularly in the regions where small business is so important. The thing we must not do is restrict small business and retard its ability to employ people. This government has proven time and time again that it does not understand small business. If it is not more red tape, it is more taxes. If it is not more taxes, it is more bad decision making. This is just a prime example of that.

The Independents should hang their heads in shame at the fact they are supporting this government to implement this tax that is going to be so damaging in regional and rural Australia. In fact, on the weekend we are going to have a preselection in Lyne, and the people of Lyne will see a National Party candidate appointed. From this weekend on the people of Lyne will have a pretty clear choice—they will have a choice between a candidate who will pledge to repeal this tax, pledge to take the pressure off small business, and the member for Lyne who is keen to introduce this tax that is going to increase over time. This tax is going to put more and more impost on small business and is going to be jacked up to $350 a tonne, by the government's own modelling, by 2050.

The government and the Independents have no shame. They are going to crucify small business. It is about time this government handed over to the coalition to manage the economy strongly, get small business confidence up, get confidence in regional Australia up, so that small business can get on with its job of employing people.

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