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

No amount of shrieking and screaming from the opposition changes that fact. Of course we see the opposition so desperate to continue their negative campaign that there is no fact they will not deny if it gets in the way of their negativity. The fact is that the carbon price is paid by a relatively small number of businesses that generate a lot of carbon pollution. We have always said that some of that price would be passed through, including in the cost of electricity. Understanding that, we have always said to small businesses that we have put consumers in a position where they have available to them increased money in their pay packet because of tax cuts and increased money in their bank accounts because of an increase in the pension or an increase in family payments. So we have said to small businesses that we understand that they will pass these costs through.

At the same time, we are working to support the competitiveness of Australian businesses and their transition to a cleaner energy future. This is important for our nation's future. It is important for us to move to a cleaner energy future—to seize the natural advantages that come from abundant sunshine and from wind, tidal, and geothermal power—from having access to sources of clean energy. Indeed, I want our nation to be a world leader when it comes to clean energy technologies. That is one of the many ways in which I believe our nation will make our fortune—

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