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

The member asking the question has not seen fit to table the documents. I am not sure why they are being covered up but I suspect it is because what we know to be the truth is transparent from the face of the bill or associated documents. The truth about electricity pricing in New South Wales is that carbon pricing, from 1 July, did cause a 10 per cent increase in electricity pricing. That is what happened. That is what the regulator determined.

That increase followed a large number of price rises in electricity in New South Wales which are deeply concerning to me because of the pressure they have put on the families of New South Wales—without assistance flowing from the state government. I am concerned, and I have publicly said this, about the approach being taken which is leading to the so-called gold plating of the network. This is a market failure which basically means that, the more they roll out the network, the more electricity assets get to earn. I am concerned too about what is happening with dividend streams to state governments and the impact that has on people like the family in New South Wales the member referred to—I think they are, as she said, actually constituents of the electorate of Banks.

So carbon pricing in New South Wales has caused a 10 per cent rise. What has the government done to assist? A family like that—I do not have their income details available to me—may well have been eligible for the tax cut. If, due to the need to care for the child, one of the parents involved works part time, they may well have gone from paying tax to paying no tax, because now you do not pay tax on the first $18,200 you earn. The family may have been eligible for the family payment increases—certainly they would have seen an increase if they are family payment recipients. We brought in those measures because we knew there would be a flowthrough impact on families.

Let us for once have the opposition try to have a mature debate about the facts. Let us see an end to the reckless negativity and to the false fear campaign. The track record so far today is one bill referred to and misrepresented in this parliament—it actually showed a 9.13 per cent increase because of carbon pricing. The nature of the misrepresentation of this bill I cannot judge because the documents are being covered up.

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