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

about a $2.2 billion tax when he keeps voting in favour of a $9 billion tax. There is the King Kong of taxes, the carbon tax, which the Leader of the Opposition loves. Notwithstanding having promised to terminate the thing before the last election, he keeps voting in favour of it after the election. It is simply impossible to take this Leader of the Opposition seriously. How on earth can he promise, before the election, to terminate the carbon tax and yet consistently vote in this parliament to keep the carbon tax? I repeat: every time your power bill goes up, there is the Leader of the Opposition with a smile on his face—because that is his pet carbon tax just doing its job. Every time you turn on your heater this winter, there is the Leader of the Opposition standing beside you saying, 'Your power bill is higher than it should be.' Your heating is more expensive than it should be, thanks to his beloved carbon tax.

He also asked me about paid parental leave. As the Leader of the Opposition well knows, members on this side of the House stand for wage justice.

Opposition members interjecting—

We do. If it is right for public servants to be paid at their wage when they go on parental leave, it is right for every single person to get paid at his or her wage when he or she goes on parental leave. Why does the Leader of the Opposition have this terrible double standard—this terrible and hypocritical double standard? He thinks that public servants should get access to their wage when they get paid parental leave, but not the rest of the economy.

Ms Butler interjecting—

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