Warren Truss (Wide Bay, National Party, Leader of the Nationals) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. I refer the Prime Minister to the fact that sulphur hexafluoride, a synthetic greenhouse gas widely used in the power industry and even in eye surgery, will face from Monday a carbon tax of $549,000 per tonne, an import application fee of $15,000 per tonne and a handling fee of $165 a tonne to help pay for the carbon tax bureaucracy. Will the Prime Minister stand by her claim that only a few hundred businesses will pay the carbon tax?

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

I thank the Leader of the National Party for his question. Can I say to him, absolutely, the carbon price is being paid by less than 500 businesses in Australia—

Opposition Members:

Opposition members interjecting—

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

and no amount of squealing by the opposition frontbench changes that fact. The Leader of the Opposition today and on other occasions has referred to the Australian scheme as an economy-wide carbon price. He is obviously trying to create the false impression in the minds of people that small businesses are paying this price or households are paying this price, whereas the price is paid directly by less than 500 businesses. Indeed, if you take an economy-wide look in Australia, Australia will have around 60 per cent of its emissions covered where other nations, including Denmark, Norway, Switzerland and Sweden, have broader schemes which cover 70 per cent or more of their emissions.

On the synthetic greenhouse gases that the Leader of the National Party raises with me, and these include some gases that are used as refrigerants, the issue here is an import levy for these gases which was first introduced by the Howard government in 2003. Let me repeat that in case anybody has missed it: these levies began under the Howard government. When they began under the Howard government, Dr Kemp, the then Minister for the Environment and Heritage—many of us remember Dr Kemp from his days in the parliament—said this:

As a party to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Australia is required to adopt policies and measures to mitigate climate change. The amendments introduced by this bill will deliver on this government's—

that is, the Howard government's—

commitment to manage synthetic greenhouse gases—

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

Madam Deputy Speaker, on a point of order. How could the Prime Minister be relevant when she is pretending that David Kemp introduced a carbon tax?

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

The Manager of Opposition Business will resume his seat. The Prime Minister is answering the question and she has the call.

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

I believe the member was in parliament in 2003, so he would have voted for this piece of legislation which imposed this levy. If he is unhappy with his vote now he might want to ring up Dr Kemp or Mr Howard and explain that he no longer supports Howard government policies.

What we see, of course, is the use of these gases in things like domestic refrigeration. There is a price. In terms of refrigeration we are talking about $4 when you re-gas your fridge. As people know, you do not re-gas your fridge every day. (Time expired)

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

The Leader of the Nationals is seeking to table a document?

Warren Truss (Wide Bay, National Party, Leader of the Nationals) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I seek to table the government's own document on the equivalent carbon price—

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

Leader of the House, is leave granted to table?

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

He needs a break, Madam Deputy Speaker. Yes.

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

Leave is granted. The document will be tabled.