Warren Truss (Wide Bay, National Party, Leader of the Nationals) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the honourable member for his question—he knows that every day this carbon tax is in place it is adding to the costs of Australian families, Australian industry, Australian business, Australian farmers and the people of his electorate. The cost of the carbon tax is now $25.40 per tonne. Yes, while parliament was away for a week the tax went up. If it stays in place, as Labor now wishes, it will go up every year—it will continue to go up. This is the tax that Labor knew before the last election was hurting business, was hurting families. They knew it was hurting, that it was costing jobs. That is why they terminated it, they said. They terminated this tax that was hurting Australians and hurting Australian families. We also made a commitment in opposition that on election to government we would get rid of this tax. The difference between one side and the other is that we are getting on with the job of getting rid of the tax. Labor has changed its mind again, and now wants to keep this tax. They want to keep a tax that keeps costing Australian jobs, that makes Australian industry uncompetitive and that adds $550 to the costs of every Australian household.

This is a tax that was evil before the election—Labor knew it then; it is even bigger now, so it is even more evil—but all of a sudden Labor has decided that the carbon tax should stay. Labor continues to vote against the reform—the reform they promised to deliver before the election; reform of a tax they know is hurting Australia. Every day they delay is costing Australian householders $11 million. It keeps on going up. Of course the impact of the carbon tax has been much greater than that cost. The impact to the economy is estimated at around $15.4 billion in the first year in lost jobs, in lost opportunities. Labor got it right with their Townsville termination announcement—the tax has to go. It is hurting Australians, and it is now time that Labor honoured its commitment in Townsville to the people of Australia. They should get rid of this tax and let our country start working properly again.

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