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

Mr Speaker, my question is to the Prime Minister. I remind the Prime Minister of the conduct of her ministers in the chamber yesterday and I ask: how can a tax that will increase power prices by 10 per cent, increase gas prices by nine per cent and increase household bills by $514 a year be the subject of such wild jubilation inside the Labor Party?

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

To the Leader of the Opposition I say: what an extraordinary question in a week in which one of his shadow ministers has been named for gross disorder in this House. If he is interested in questions of conduct in parliament then he might address whether or not the member for Indi should be sitting on his front bench. While he is at it, he should make a series of other decisions as well.

Yesterday the clean energy legislation went through this parliament. I think it is a good thing that this parliament has decided to cut carbon pollution. That is the right thing to do. I think it is a good thing that we have decided to reach our bipartisan target of a five per cent reduction in carbon pollution in the cheapest possible way. I think it is a good thing that we have put a price on carbon so we can unleash $100 billion of new investment in clean and renewable energy. I think it is a good thing that this parliament yesterday decided to triple the tax free threshold so that secondary income earners going out to work—often women making the choice to return to work, perhaps part time after having a child—and people making a journey from welfare to work see more of the benefits of that work straightaway, that we see a million people out of the tax system, that we make it easier for them to get to work and to enjoy the fruits of their labours in their hands through their pay packets rather than being taken away by the tax system.

I think it is a good thing that we are providing extra assistance to pensioners. I remind the Leader of the Opposition that the package has been designed so that on average pensioners will come out in front. They will have more money at their disposal than they do now. I think that is a good thing to help the pensioners of Australia. I also think it is a good thing that we are providing tax cuts to people who earn less than $80,000. Many of them will see a tax cut of $300. Some of them will see a tax cut of more than that. I think it is a good thing that we are providing those tax cuts.

I understand that the Leader of the Opposition—because he has no policies that will work, because he always says no—will come into this parliament day after day and seek to continue to prosecute his fear campaign in the Australian community. But the one thing I say about the continued prosecution of that fear campaign is: Australians will ultimately be able to judge what it is worth as carbon pricing comes into effect on 1 July next year. I say to the Leader of the Opposition: whatever his words—having lived through the election promise of a rock solid ironclad guarantee and having seen that promise smashed by the Leader of the Opposition—no-one is going to believe him about taking carbon pricing away because he is not to be believed on this question.

The Leader of the Opposition will huff and puff about carbon pricing but he knows, as I know, that around half the people who sit behind him are in favour of carbon pricing. The people who sit on his front bench have been out there publicly in favour of carbon pricing. He has been out there publicly in favour of carbon pricing. Former Prime Minister Howard has been out there publicly in favour of carbon pricing. The Leader of the Opposition will find it hard to keep covering up the fact that the Liberal Party has absolutely no real intention to ever take this carbon pricing away.

Mike Symon (Deakin, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. How has this parliament moved from words to deeds in creating a clean energy future for the nation? How does this reform cut pollution and help keep our economy strong?

Honourable Members:

Honourable members interjecting—

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

Order! It would assist if the House could contain its collective jubilation at the moment. The Prime Minister has the call. The Prime Minister will be heard in silence.

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

I thank the member for Deakin for his question. I would say to the member for Deakin, as I say to other members of the government and other members with goodwill in this parliament, I know the focus of government members is on the jobs of Australians, the prosperity of Australians and making sure that we give Australia the best possible environment it can have for the future.

On the question of jobs, I think that we should note that today statistics have come out that show that the economy added over 20,000 jobs last month. That is on top of the 750,000 jobs created since this government came to office. Having a robust economy that can create jobs is not a matter of accident. It is not a matter of neglect. It is not a matter of autopilot. It takes careful and continued policy work and reform. It is no accident that our economy today is a resilient economy. It has been built painstakingly by reforms over generations, particularly the reforms to open our economy to the world under the Hawke and Keating governments, particularly reforms like embracing a pool of national savings through superannuation and particularly the work this government did to support jobs during the days of the global financial crisis. If we are to see jobs and prosperity in the future, then we cannot afford to say no in the face of the challenges of the future. We have to get out there and seize those challenges. Our climate is changing. Our planet is warming. That has risks and consequences—

Dennis Jensen (Tangney, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

No, it's not.

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

I thank the clearest spokesperson for the Liberal Party, who, when I say 'climate change is real', chants, 'No, it's not'! I thank him for outing the fact that the Liberal Party is in the arms of climate change sceptics and deniers. I think Australians need to know that. Obviously, the member for Tangney is being constrained now, by a parliamentary friend, from continuing to tell us about the climate change scepticism and denial of the Liberal Party. But our climate is changing, our planet is warming and that has consequences for our country. In the face of those consequences, we can say no and just drift into a future with more dangerous climate change or we can say that we will shape that future, we will cut carbon pollution, we will ensure that there are clean-energy jobs and we will do this in the fairest possible way, the Labor way—helping pensioners, helping families with kids, helping Australians who need tax cuts the most. We can seize this clean energy future, as this House of Representatives did yesterday, or we can do what that Leader of the Opposition does, which is work out on any given day where the political wind is blowing and what he believes in on that day. That is what he has consistently done on climate change. He has been in favour of putting a price on carbon. He has talked approvingly about a carbon tax. Now he has campaigned against a price on carbon. He has feigned concern for steelworkers' jobs. He has voted against steelworkers' jobs in this parliament. And, in the lead-up to the election in 2013, we will see the most ridiculous campaigning of all: the Leader of the Opposition trying to pretend that he seriously wants to take carbon pricing away—a hollow promise from a man that should not be believed, given the weathervane politics he has pursued.

Ms Julie Bishop (Curtin, Liberal Party, Deputy Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. I refer the Prime Minister to her promise during the election, 'There will be no carbon tax under a government I lead.' How can the passage of a tax that represents a total betrayal of the Australian people become a matter for wild jubilation within the Labor Party?

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

I remind the Deputy Leader of the Opposition of her statement in September 2008:

The Liberal Party has a policy of both protecting the planet and protecting Australia. We support, in principle, an Emissions Trading Scheme …

That was the position of the Deputy Leader of the Opposition. So what I cannot quite explain when she comes into this parliament with that question is: why did she vote yesterday against her position? Why did she betray the position that she said was the position of the Liberal Party? Why did she do that—betray the Liberal Party with her vote?

Honourable Members:

Honourable members interjecting—

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

Order! Order!