Darren Chester (Gippsland, National Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Roads and Regional Transport) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Gippsland and Latrobe Valley families have no reason to trust the assurances by this Prime Minister and this government that they will be adequately compensated for the impacts of the carbon tax. This, after all, is the Prime Minister who promised there would be no carbon tax under the government she leads. To be fair, the Prime Minister has been partly true to her word. There is no carbon tax under the government she leads; there was a carbon tax under the government that was led by Bob Brown and now is led by Christine Milne. It is this grubby deal with the Greens which has forced this government into this position. The blue-collar workers in my region, who used to be the heart and soul of the Australian Labor Party, know they have been sold out to the inner-city latte sippers. These workers have been vilified. They have been described as 'big polluters' and told that their jobs will go as the government implements its policy of contract for closure.

With just days to go until the carbon tax cascades through regional economies, there have been no guarantees whatsoever given by this government in relation to the contract for closure scheme, other than ministers claiming that they are sticking to the 30 June deadline. This is a scheme aimed at shutting down power stations. There are currently negotiations going on with at least three power stations in the Latrobe Valley. It is the worst kept secret in the world that the negotiations are going absolutely nowhere. Both the minister for climate change and the minister for industry and resources have not ruled out extending the deadline. Extending the deadline would just add to the uncertainty in the Gippsland-Latrobe Valley region. There is simply no certainty for any power station worker in my community or their families in the Latrobe Valley.

Those opposite like to say that the opposition is scaremongering on this topic. The hardworking people in the Latrobe Valley are scared. They are scared about the future of their jobs under this government and its policy to shut down power stations. Even the minister for regional Australia admitted recently there were no guidelines for the regional structural adjustment package, which is supposed to assist the regions which are adversely affected by the carbon tax, regions like the Gippsland-Latrobe Valley area. What hope have the Latrobe Valley families got when no-one knows if the contract for closure scheme is progressing and no-one knows what the guidelines are for the regional structural adjustment package?

The Labor Party of old stood up for blue-collar workers; now it simply stands for staying in power at all costs. It is doing these pathetic deals with the Greens, who, I stress, have never created a job in regional Australia and are a direct threat to all of our traditional industries in regional communities. There is an absolute crisis of confidence in regional communities, including the Latrobe Valley, and it is directly linked to the uncertainty this government has created through its reckless decision to legislate for the world's biggest carbon tax.

Those opposite like to claim that there are other factors at play in terms of the impact on manufacturing and other industries in regional communities, in terms of the downturn we are experiencing. I acknowledge that there are other factors at play, but I simply ask the question: why make it harder? Why make it harder for regional communities by implementing the world's biggest carbon tax during an already difficult time?