Bob Baldwin (Paterson, Liberal Party, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Industry) Share this | Hansard source

I say to the Australian people who are listening to this: you cannot go out to the people ahead of an election and tell them you are going to do one thing—and we saw that with the carbon tax—and then change your mind. We saw them announce for political advantage days before the last election that the carbon tax was gone, but now they support it. Ten days ago the shadow minister, the member for Port Adelaide, said we should terminate the carbon tax. What has happened since then?

When I look at the rising costs of living for my constituents, when I look at the rising costs of business for my constituents in the industry portfolio and when I look at the job losses that have occurred because businesses can no longer compete because we are one of the few countries that have a carbon tax—it is a direct cost on exports, and our country survives on exporting our products; we put ourselves at a price disadvantage—I say that today the coalition are standing up for you. We are determined to deliver on our election commitment. You voted us in to do this, and we will do it.

The cost of energy will go up on 1 July if this legislation is not passed. The cost of energy will go up because part of the carbon tax is that it goes up on 1 July. It will go up to $25.40 a tonne. That will be a further increase on the electricity bills of each and every Australian from 1 July. I say to all of those members: listen to the people of Australia. They all want to support reducing carbon emissions. They all want to support that. It is a great idea and worthy of achieving. But they do not like being stung in the neck, particularly when that sting in the neck was based on a direct and deliberate lie by a former Prime Minister, compounded by the last Prime Minister—before the one we have now—who said that it was gone. And here today we have the Leader of the Opposition and the shadow minister for the environment supporting those carbon taxes. So we have 'Electricity Bill' Shorten, the Leader of the Opposition, saying, 'I am happy that on 1 July I will be putting up your electricity bill.' He can take personal responsibility. He will be putting up the electricity bill on 1 July. Also on 1 July there are a lot more flow-on effects from the carbon tax which will affect each and every individual in Australia.

There have been retiring members of the Senate who have said that people need to look at the fact that the coalition was elected to deliver an outcome and that those bills should be passed because, when they are passed and people see the effect, they can judge us one way or another. They can judge whether the cost of living did come down or there was no change. They can judge whether we actually had the fortitude to get the ACCC to pursue people who were not reducing the cost of energy when they had a reduction in their carbon tax bill.

We are committed. We are determined. One of our main objectives is to reduce the cost-of-living pressure. On 1 July, as I said, the carbon tax is due to go up by five per cent more, rising from $24.15 to $25.40 a tonne. This will do incredible damage to our Australian economy because all of those cents and all of those dollars add up to costs and make it much more unaffordable for Australian businesses to compete. I gave a commitment to my people in Paterson that I would repeal these taxes. It was the main agenda item going into the last election. We are determined to repeal these bills, and we encourage people to come on board.

As for the incoming senators of the Palmer United Party, they should also have a look at what the agenda of the Australian people was in changing the government. I am not going to comment on last night, because I did not catch all of the detail. I was not at the press conference. But I can say that the Palmer United Party have the opportunity to show that they also listen to the Australian people and act in the national interest. When people are out there on struggle street—and a large percentage of my constituents are on struggle street; a very high number of my constituents are pensioners and seniors who rely on a very small income—that cost of the carbon tax in their energy bill alone, whether it is for electricity or the $70 hit on their gas bill, is something that they can ill afford.

Today, members opposite have the chance to stand up, be counted and act in the national interest. I ask them to support these carbon tax repeal bills because former Prime Minister Rudd said that they would. Their current shadow environment minister said, as little as 10 days ago, that they would. Today is the day. It is time to deliver on your promises and your commitments and not avoid the issue any further.

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