Wyatt Roy (Longman, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. I refer the Prime Minister to this electricity bill from FoodWorks Burpengary in my electorate that shows their off-peak power has increased by 80 per cent as a direct result of the carbon tax. As owner, Craig, stated:

The carbon tax is going to cost people their jobs and hurt them in the hip pocket. We’ll absorb as much as we can but we can’t possibly absorb 100 per cent of the cost of the carbon tax.

How does the Prime Minister reconcile Craig's reality with her claim that small businesses will not pay the carbon tax?

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

I thank the member for his question. To the member's question I would remind him of the facts, and no amount of fear campaigning from the opposition changes the facts, as inconvenient as they are for the opposition. So, they will shout, they will go and pull stunts and they will come in and ask questions where they have the facts wrong, but nothing changes the facts. The facts are, of course, as I have just said to the member over here, that it is only big businesses that generate a lot of carbon pollution that pay the carbon price. That is the design of the scheme. Had Prime Minister Howard been re-elected in 2007, that would have been the design of his scheme, and the Leader of the Opposition would have been travelling the length and breadth of the country to advocate for it.

With a scheme designed that way, yes, there is some flowthrough impact; we always understood that. We said to small businesses, who do not have to fill in any additional forms—unlike the crushing burden of paperwork that fell on top of them when the GST was implemented by the former Howard government—that they should pass those costs through. And let us remind ourselves of the magnitude—in terms of the cost of living, 0.7 per cent, less than a cent in a dollar. In order to help Australian families with that we have provided tax cuts.

The member would represent people in this parliament earning less than $80,000—indeed, he would represent thousands of them—who have a tax cut. He would represent some working women who have gone from paying tax to paying no tax. He would represent some pensioners who have seen a historic pension increase and now, on top of it, 20 per cent more assistance than they need to deal with the average impact of carbon pricing.

Mr Robb interjecting—

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

The member for Goldstein might being listening from the outside of the building soon.

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

He would represent people with families who have seen an increase in their family payments, and will see one again from this government from the proceeds of the Minerals Resource Rent Tax, because we believe in sharing the benefits of the boom.

They are the facts. No amount of distortion from the opposition changes those facts. I think you can see it written all over their faces today. They are like mice running around on the same wheel. They run and run and run, and there is a lot of activity but they do not get anywhere.

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

Is the member for Longman seeking to table a document?

Wyatt Roy (Longman, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I do seek leave, Madam Deputy Speaker. This electricity bill shows in black and white the increase.

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

The member for Longman will resume his seat. The Leader of the House has indicated that leave is not granted. The member for Petrie has the call.