Greg Hunt (Flinders, Liberal Party, Minister for the Environment) Share this | Hansard source

Let me turn to what the National Farmers' Federation has already said:

Australian agriculture is breathing a sigh of relief now the tax has finally been abolished.

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Carbon tax flow-on costs hit Australian farmers every time they paid for essential electricity, fertiliser, chemical and fuel supplies.

It is not just the NFF saying this sort of thing; it is the Australian Industry Group, the Business Council of Australia, the Australian Petroleum and Production Exploration Association, the Cement Industry Federation and the Australian Retailers Association.

But it is not just business that benefits—Australian households are also going to benefit from the abolition of a tax which does not do the job. That is the saddest part—as the opposite know, it was a tax that singularly failed to reduce emissions. What do we know there will be for householders? There will not just be a $550 on-average reduction. The electricity providers are already making it clear that the cost of electricity will be reduced. Origin has said today that the electricity price will come down. The Electricity Retailers Association has said that the electricity price will come down.

Unfortunately, the Leader of the Opposition has guaranteed that, under a government that he leads, the electricity price will go back up again. Let us be clear. When they seek to return a carbon tax dressed up as an ETS, the price will not just come back to where it is now. Under their modelling, it will go up to $38. This is what the budget said just a year ago—that the carbon tax, as a floating price, would climb to $38.

Let me compare what occurred under those opposite with what AGL has already said today. Electricity price reductions will be backdated to 1 July 2014. I will finish with their final words to Australian households: 'You don't need to do anything—we will make sure you receive all your savings.'

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