Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is again to the Prime Minister. I refer the Prime Minister to her statement that she cannot release the names of businesses who will pay the carbon tax because it 'breaches secrecy provisions under the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Act'. Is the Prime Minister aware that the act and its website state that making the register of polluters publicly available is actually one of its objectives? If the Prime Minister does not understand the legislation associated with the carbon tax, how can anyone have confidence in her government?

Julia Gillard (Lalor, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the Leader of the Opposition for his question. It is a question about legislation passed under the previous government when the Leader of the Opposition was a supporter of an emissions trading scheme, as were all other members of the Howard cabinet. I am very happy to see the Leader of the Opposition take us back to those times when he believed in pricing carbon, when he believed in putting a cap on carbon and when he believed you could weigh and measure carbon pollution—things he apparently does not believe any longer.

The website tracks and makes available information under that legislation. The point we have made publicly is that we cannot then mine and use that dataset for other purposes. Of course, businesses who pay the carbon price will know who those businesses are when the system comes into action on 1 July next year. I view it as remarkable indeed that the Leader of the Opposition is in this parliament asking details about the government's carbon pricing plan when he is unable on most days to tell Australians whether he supports a minus five per cent target or not.

Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, I rise on a point of order on direct relevance. How can the Prime Minister assert one thing as fact when the legislation states the absolute opposite?

Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Prime Minister is aware of her obligation under the standing orders to make her response directly relevant to the question. The Prime Minister has the call.

Julia Gillard (Lalor, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you very much, Mr Speaker. I have described to the Leader of the Opposition matters associated with that legislation. What I would say to the Leader of the Opposition is that what we continue to see day after day—and clearly today is going to be no different to any other—is misrepresentations from the opposition about the way in which carbon pricing works. They have been out telling people that it would destroy coal; they were wrong about that. They have been out telling people that it would mean astronomical increases in prices; they were wrong about that. They have been out telling people you cannot measure carbon pollution; they were wrong about that. They have been out telling people, depending which audience they are in front of, they are either in favour of or against a minus five per cent target. What they cannot ever tell any Australians is that they have got a policy that will work, because every serious person in this country, every serious economist, considers their policy to be laughable.