Rob Mitchell (McEwen, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker—I didn't think they wanted to hear my question! My question is to—

Christopher Pyne (Sturt, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Education, Apprenticeships and Training) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Madam Deputy Speaker, I rise on a point of order. It has become a habit of the Prime Minister—and other senior frontbenchers—to completely misrepresent what is going on in the House, and she should be pulled up on it. Nobody has been hurling abuse. She should withdraw that misstatement.

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

The Manager of Opposition Business is fully aware that there are other forms of the House to address these concerns and, whilst the opposition may be frustrated, I am operating within the standing orders.

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

Madam Deputy Speaker, I am offended by the words the Prime Minister used and I ask that she withdraw them. I am offended by her false accusation that—

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

The Deputy Leader of the Opposition will resume her seat. For the civility of the House, I am going to ask the Prime Minister to withdraw so we can proceed with question time.

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

Madam Deputy Speaker, I withdraw.

Mr Pyne interjecting—

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

The member for Sturt is not assisting. I think it is a bit of a two-way street here, if people are concerned about the conduct of the House.

Rob Mitchell (McEwen, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I will try again. My question is to the Minister for Climate Change and Energy Efficiency and the Minister for Industry and Innovation. Minister, what are the facts about Australia's transition to a clean energy economy, and how is the government supporting households and businesses through its transition?

Greg Combet (Charlton, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Climate Change and Energy Efficiency) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for McEwen for his question, because the facts are extremely important. We have heard how, in private, many of those opposite understand the facts and they make investments—they put their money where they really think things are going. They do not listen to the investment advice from the Leader of the Opposition.

The facts are that under a carbon price Australia's economy will continue to grow, and it will continue to grow strongly. There will be 1.6 million extra jobs over the next eight years, and income per person will increase by $9,000—all with a carbon price in place, all as we are helping nine out of 10 households with assistance through our household assistance package, and all while we are supporting jobs and the competitiveness of the economy with the program we have put in place to support businesses in the emissions-intensive and trade-exposed part of the economy.

But of course, some people in this place still prefer a world of fiction. The Leader of the Opposition has been running around the country with his own special horror story, predicting doom and gloom. He has predicted the death of Gladstone, the death of the Latrobe Valley, the death of Portland, the death of the Hunter region—Illawarra, Kwinana, Whyalla, and the story goes on.

A government member: He's been everywhere, man!

It reminds you a bit of the old Lucky Starr song from the 1960s, I've Been Everywhere. You know, 'Cabramatta, Parramatta, Wangaratta, Coolangatta'—but the punchline is, 'everywhere is doomed, man'. That is what he is—getting around, Lucky Starr, 'everywhere is doomed', it has all gone. But the fact of the matter is interest rates are coming down, unemployment is under five per cent, inflation is under control, private investment is at record levels, we have a AAA credit rating, a low debt-to-GDP ratio, budget surpluses across the forward estimates. But this does not stop the Leader of the Opposition.

He predicts the death of manufacturing, the death of the auto industry, the death of mining, the death of the coal industry, the death of the nickel industry, unimaginable cost increases, unimaginable power price increases, apples, fruit, mincemeat, chops, T-bone steaks—all out of reach; there is no way anyone will be able to buy anything. There is doom for families, doom for pensioners, older people, younger people, babies, the middle-aged—they are all doomed. And none of it is true. No-one over on that side of the House believes him either. No-one believes him. They put their money where they think the markets are really going. His whole campaign is a complete fraud. As 1 July approaches he is going to get more and more desperate, because he will have no credibility left. (Time expired)

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

My question is to the Prime Minister. I refer her to the Productivity Commission report on the relevant matter at page 50 which says:

… no country currently imposes an economy-wide tax on greenhouse gas emissions or has in place an economy-wide ETS.

How does the Prime Minister justify her statement, made a few moments ago in this House, that there are other countries that have bigger carbon taxes than the one she plans for this country?

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

I ask that Leader of the Opposition to address himself to some of the facts that I know he finds uncomfortable. He walks around making claims about carbon pricing: Norway's carbon tax on petrol, $64; Switzerland fossil fuels, $37; Sweden on heating fuels, $145; Ireland a carbon tax of around $24; Finland taxes on—

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

Madam Deputy Speaker, on a point of order: to answer the question, she needs to indicate that these are bigger than Australia's carbon tax and none of them are.

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

The Prime Minister is answering the question.

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

In Canada, the province of British Columbia's carbon tax is around A$28. Those are the facts for the Leader of the Opposition. Of course, what he does not want people to recognise is that in South Korea they have just legislated to have an emissions trading scheme. California is moving to an emissions trading scheme. He does not want any of those facts recognised, because he wants to play his fear campaign. What he does not want recognised as well is that he stood alongside Prime Minister Howard in the 2007 election, when Prime Minister Howard promised that the emissions trading scheme that the Leader of the Opposition believed in then would be a world-class emissions trading scheme—more comprehensive, more rigorously grounded in economics and with better governance than anything in Europe—the platform he went to the 2007 election on.

Since then, what the Leader of the Opposition has done is to decide that his narrow political interest is best served by fear campaigning. The problem for the Leader of the Opposition is that whilst it has been easy to run around the country making all of these huge claims about carbon pricing, it is not going to be sustained when it happens on 1 July. When the sun sets on 1 July and people are still digging coal, when the sun sets on 1 July and the prices in the shops are not astronomical, when the sun sets on 1 July and power prices have not gone up by 30 per cent, when the sun sets on 1 July and you can happily walk down the streets of Whyalla, what is the Leader of the Opposition going to say? He will have been exposed before the whole Australian community as someone who has been on a campaign of deceit for month after month after month just in his naked political interest.

Opposition members interjecting—

Sophie Mirabella (Indi, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Innovation, Industry and Science) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

You've been exposed as a liar!

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

No amount of screaming or squealing by the opposition frontbench changes that simple truth. On 1 July every Australian will know—

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

Order! The member for Indi will withdraw without qualification.

Sophie Mirabella (Indi, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Innovation, Industry and Science) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I withdraw.

Mr Mitchell interjecting—

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

The member for McEwen is warned.

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

If the Leader of the Opposition believed any of these reckless claims, he would be guaranteeing them today and members of his team would not be investing in the mining industry. (Time expired)