Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

Every single Australian's gross national income per head will be $5,000 a year less with a carbon tax than without one. That is a $5,000 a year hit on every Australian's income that this opposition wants to maintain in perpetuity.

Scrapping the carbon tax right now would make every single Australian household, on average, $550 a year better off. That is $550 a year better off, thanks to scrapping the carbon tax. Scrapping the carbon tax will give industries like the aluminium industry a fighting chance not just to survive but to flourish. The Labor Party's own figures show that, by mid-century, under a carbon tax aluminium production will be down by more than 60 per cent. So, every time an aluminium plant closes or scales down, it is just the carbon tax doing its job.

I am pleased that the Leader of the Opposition is now visiting workplaces where jobs are at risk; I am very pleased that he is doing that. But if he wants to help those workers rather than just use them, he will get out of the way and he will let the carbon tax repeal legislation go through.

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