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

Yes, I can rule out covering the family car. That is not covered by current carbon pricing legislation. There is absolutely no proposal or suggestion by the government that it does. I think that the Leader of the Opposition is well aware that the problem with the farm sector is that there is no reliable way of measuring emissions and that means that it is not possible for the farm sector to be covered by carbon pricing. However, it is possible for the farm sector to benefit from carbon reduction arrangements. We have ensured that farming does benefit through our Carbon Farming Initiative.

I want to pay some tribute to Tony Windsor and Rob Oakeshott on the design of this. It is an important way for farmers to realise additional value from their land by ensuring that their farming practices assist our environment by taking carbon pollution out of the atmosphere and storing it in the soil. We have made sure that there is a stream of assistance and a stream of funding that can reward our farmers for those best practice endeavours.

Of course, all of that is at risk from the Leader of the Opposition's policies and plans. He is right to point out to this parliament that the government being re-elected in September will give the nation stability on carbon pricing. What he ought to do is point out very clearly the alternative, which is, if he is elected, there will be complete chaos because of the half-baked nature of his policies and plans and his plan to throw the Australian economy and the Australian nation into turmoil to try and get rid of a carbon pricing policy which he used to support, which he stood on a platform in 2007 in favour of and which he knows in his heart of hearts is working.

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