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 government's intention to give the Alcoa aluminium smelter at Point Henry $42 million in hush money to help pay its carbon tax bill. Given that the Australian Aluminium Council has warned that the carbon tax will contribute to ensuring Australian aluminium operations have no long-term future, will the Prime Minister now announce similar bailouts for all the other 16,000 workers in the industry at sites like Gladstone, Portland, Kwinana, Kurri Kurri and Bell Bay?

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the House) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Madam Deputy Speaker, on a point of order: the suggestion in that question of hush money is a very serious allegation to make not just against the government but against the company Alcoa. I request that the Leader of the Opposition, if possible, rephrase the question in a more sensible way.

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

I was going to point out to the Leader of the Opposition that the use of the term hush money is an imputation. I rule that part of the question out of order. I call the Prime Minister.

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

In relation to the Leader of the Opposition's question, I have been concerned, as have the members for Corangamite and Corio, about the circumstances at Alcoa. We have also been advised by the company of those circumstances, which the Leader of the Opposition has come into the Parliament and misrepresented today. The circumstances of Alcoa which have been made available to the government include pressure on Alcoa because of international prices and because of the age of some of its capital stock. We have worked with Alcoa because we believe these jobs are precious. We believe the jobs of Australian workers are precious, and that is why when jobs are being threatened in our economy—for example, by the global financial crisis—we have always worked to protect jobs. We have taken that same ethos about understanding how important jobs are to working people to circumstances at Alcoa and we are working with the company because we want to see a continuation of the company and a continuation of those jobs.

The Leader of the Opposition, of course, is not at all concerned about those jobs; the only thing that will ever worry him is what is the best way of distorting this issue, to make it about his fear campaign. This is not about the Leader of the Opposition's fear campaign; this is about a different set of circumstances. He owes it to the workers there to be honest about it. He owes it to that region of Victoria to be honest about it. He owes it to the people of Australia to be honest about it.

For us on this side of the parliament, jobs will always be something we work to protect. On that side of the parliament, any threat to jobs is just an excuse to try and politically profit as part of their destructive and aggressive negativity. We will work to help working people; they will keep being negative about working people and their lifetime prospects, as we have seen the Leader of the Opposition be already today.

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

I ask a supplementary question. Given that the government's own modelling shows a 61 per cent drop in aluminium production as a result of the carbon tax, wouldn't the best help she could give the workers at Point Henry be to simply drop this toxic tax?

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

The Leader of the Opposition, before he comes in here and misrepresents circumstances, should acquaint himself with the facts. He should actually pay the respect to working people necessary to acquaint himself with the facts. I refer him to the statement of the Managing Director of Alcoa, Mr Alan Cransberg, who has, as Alcoa has previously stated, that 'the review of the Point Henry smelter and the current situation have not been brought about by the upcoming price on carbon but are as a result of the international price of aluminium and the high Australian dollar'.

The Leader of the Opposition, once again, in here trying to sell his misrepresentations to these working people and to Australians generally—completely disgusting to try and create that fear, completely disgusting to try and profit off that fear but in keeping with the kind of negativity we always expect from the Leader of the Opposition. He has never cared about saving a job, he has never acted to save a job and today he is not telling the truth about these jobs.

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

I seek leave to table the government's own modelling, which shows a 61 per cent reduction in aluminium production under the carbon tax.

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

That Leader of the Opposition will resume his seat. Leave is not granted.