Joe Hockey (North Sydney, Liberal Party, Shadow Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. I remind the Prime Minister of the most recent World Bank report which showed Australia's ease of doing business ranking had fallen from eighth in the world to 15th in the world since Labor was elected in 2007. Why is the Prime Minister hitting our economy with the world's largest carbon tax that will only make business in Australia harder and not easier?

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

I say to the member for North Sydney, first, as usual, the question from the opposition contains a misrepresentation about the Australian carbon pricing scheme and the description of it as the 'world's largest'. That is a misrepresentation constantly restated by the opposition. I suggest to them that perhaps they get in contact with some of their sister political parties around the world, including the British Conservative Party, and have a discussion about things like putting a price on carbon. I suspect they should talk to them about what is happening in Europe and around the rest of the world rather than come in here and fearmonger in the way in which they do.

On the ease of doing business in our economy, we continue to work to make sure that businesses large and small can prosper in our nation. We are working with small businesses through the instant asset write-off, something the opposition has repudiated because it would prefer the big mining companies to have the money, to give them back the minerals resource rent tax. We are working through the Council of Australian Governments to reduce red tape, through the seamless national economy initiatives—things that were too hard, left undone, neglected, and left by the wayside under those opposite when they were in government—and things like national occupational health and safety laws, which was something that was always too hard and too difficult for the opposition. We continue too to add to the ease of doing business through infrastructure investments, including very importantly the National Broadband Network, with a clear productivity benefit for businesses large and small and for our nation overall—something repudiated by those opposite; something that they would rip out of the ground and take away the associated productivity benefits.

The Leader of the Opposition and the member for North Sydney continue their carbon pricing fear campaign, but I bet neither of them will come to the dispatch box today and guarantee that the claims that they have made will come true on 1 July—guarantee that the coal industry will shut down on 1 July; guarantee that the cement industry will shut down on 1 July; and guarantee that price rises will be astronomical on 1 July; guarantee that their claims about electricity pricing will come true on 1 July. In my last answer, the member for Bowman said, 'It is not about 1 July'—another clear sign that the opposition knows that its aggressive negativity is going to fall foul of the facts on 1 July and many members of goodwill opposite know that too. (Time expired)

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

Madam Deputy Speaker, I have a supplementary question to the Prime Minister. I ask the Prime Minister, in the light of the answer she has just given, to name a single country—any one anywhere in the world will do; just one country—that has a bigger carbon tax than the one she is proposing to introduce in defiance of her guarantee before the last election that 'There will be no carbon tax under a government I lead'?

Ms Anna Burke (Chisholm, Deputy-Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! The last part of the question was out of order.

Government members interjecting—

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

I am getting some help from the members of the government bench, who are of course referring to nations like Norway and Sweden. I ask the Leader of the Opposition to direct his attention to what is happening in Europe, what is happening in the UK, what is happening in California, what is happening in South Korea and what is happening in provinces in China. I ask him to direct his attention to that. I also ask him to explain—because I do not believe he ever has—why he stood alongside Prime Minister John Howard during the 2007 election when Prime Minister Howard promised one of the most comprehensive carbon pricing schemes in the world. Was that a different Tony Abbott or the same Tony Abbott? Was he telling the truth then or is he telling the truth now or is he just a political opportunist always?

Ms Anna Burke (Chisholm, Deputy-Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Is the Leader of the Opposition seeking the call?

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

Madam Deputy Speaker, I would love to table the Productivity Commission report, which stated that no country—

Ms Anna Burke (Chisholm, Deputy-Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! The Leader of the Opposition will resume his seat. I did advise the House yesterday not to abuse points of order. That was an absolute abuse.