Louise Markus (Macquarie, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. I remind the Prime Minister that the most recent determination from the New South Wales pricing authority clearly states that the carbon tax makes up 80 per cent of all recent increases in electricity prices for Integral Energy customers. With customers of Integral Energy in western Sydney already hurting due to the rising cost of living, why is the government hitting them with a carbon tax that forces up prices but does not reduce Australia's greenhouse gas emissions?

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

As we can see, the opposition's campaign of fear and distortion continues. The member who asked the question apparently never asked herself: what was the impact for her constituents and businesses in her electorate as electricity prices went up 70 per cent because of factors associated with investment in the poles and the wires and the operation of the electricity system in New South Wales? She never asked herself the question as the current state Liberal government delivered its budget with big dividends from state electricity assets. She never asked herself the question: what does that mean for my constituents or businesses in my electorate? She never concerned herself about the huge rises in electricity—presumably because, at that point, she was following the Leader of the Opposition down a false and misleading path and pretending either these increases had not happened or they were the result of carbon pricing, even though they predated when carbon pricing started.

Unlike the member who asked the question, I am concerned about those electricity price increases. Unlike the Leader of the Opposition, I do not deny that they exist. We are determined to act on them and we will be working, hopefully cooperatively, with state and territory colleagues including the New South Wales government to act on them.

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. To be directly relevant, doesn't the Prime Minister need to refer to what she said about the New South Wales Labor government when it was in power and was raising electricity prices?

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 has the call.

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

I thank the member for Sturt for proving my point that people know that there are other sources of electricity price increases apart from carbon pricing. I thank the member for Sturt for proving that point for me. He must have got the memo from the Leader of the Opposition that they have suddenly repositioned though they started this parliamentary fortnight saying such increases did not exist. Now they have been forced to acknowledge them because their state colleagues were talking about them and all of the experts were talking about them.

For the cost-of-living pressures in the member's electorate including from electricity prices, when it comes to carbon we always said that households would see, on average, an increase of $3.30 per week and that is why, on average, we provided assistance of $10.10. When it comes to assisting the people in her electorate with cost-of-living pressures, we have increased their support for childcare because what was left to us by the former Howard government and the Leader of the Opposition was not good enough for Australian families. We put in place the Schoolkids Bonus to help with the costs of getting the kids to school. We have delivered tax cuts including now making sure you can earn $18,200 without paying a cent of tax. We have delivered a historic pension increase because we understand that older Australians can do it very tough. We will continue to work with Australians on their cost-of-living pressures. What we will see from opposition is more fear and more— (Time expired)

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

Is the member for Macquarie seeking leave to table a document?

Louise Markus (Macquarie, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I seek leave to table page 4 of IPART's fact sheet headed 'Changes in regulated electricity prices from 1 July 2012—

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

No, and I table the BHP Billiton statement from yesterday to help the Leader of the Opposition.

Mr Christensen interjecting—

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

The member for Dawson is warned.