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

My question is to the Prime Minister. Why is the Prime Minister making the world's biggest carbon tax even bigger by imposing a carbon tax on heavy vehicles from 1 July next year?

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

To the Leader of The Nationals: it feels like they have brought in the question time pack from last June when they were in the throes of the most ridiculous fear campaign we have seen in Australian politics. Here we go again trotting out the false claims, trotting out the ridiculous assertions, trotting out the most mendacious—

Honourable Members:

Honourable members interjecting—

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

Madam Speaker, I rise on a point of order.

Mr Hockey interjecting—

Ms Anna Burke (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Prime Minister will resume her seat. The member for North Sydney is not being very helpful either. The Manager of Opposition Business has the call.

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

I ask you to invite the Prime Minister to withdraw that false statement that this is a false claim when it is a fact that they are introducing a carbon tax on heavy vehicles from 1 July next year.

Ms Anna Burke (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Prime Minister has the call and will return to the question before the chair.

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

I certainly will not be taking any lectures about facts and carbon pricing from the opposition after the ridiculous fear campaign they have run around the country. What the Leader of The Nationals should know from our carbon-pricing scheme—it was made very clear at the time—is that we did not put a carbon price on petrol, diesel and LPG for passenger motor vehicles and for light on-road commercial vehicles. It has always been the subject of the scheme that, from 1 July 2014, there would be carbon pricing for heavy on-road vehicles, and that is of course because we wanted to see a situation of consistent treatment for modes of transport. Why did we want to do that?

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

Are you saying it's not true?

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

The Manager of Opposition Business is calling away. He might learn something. We believe climate change is real: fact No. 1. That is why we wanted to do it. Fact No. 2: we believe it is caused by human activity. Fact No. 3: we believe that we should get our economy ready for the future and reduce the carbon pollution generated by our economy. We looked around the world and saw other nations doing precisely that. Then of course is the fact that the Leader of the Opposition always finds the most deeply uncomfortable: the cheapest way of reducing the amount of carbon pollution that your economy generates is to put a price on carbon. Leading conservatives around the world know that. Former Prime Minister Howard knew that. The Leader of the Opposition sat in a cabinet that knew that, because they went to the 2007 election saying that they would bring a price on carbon pollution, an emissions-trading scheme, to Australia.

None of those facts have changed. What has changed is that the Leader of the Opposition decided to ditch the facts and play the politics. On this side of the parliament we have always believed in those facts. We have always believed that the most effective way of reducing carbon pollution and the cheapest way of reducing carbon was to put a price on carbon. The Leader of the Opposition will never be able to say to the Australian people that he stands for a cheaper plan than ours. He does not, and that is why we will defend this plan up to and including at the next election and in the days beyond, because it is right for the country.

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

Madam Speaker, I ask a supplementary question. If the Prime Minister always deals in facts, as she says she does, why did she say to the Australian people five days before the last election: 'There will be no carbon tax under the government I lead'?

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

Dear me, they are back to old favourites today. I refer the Leader of the Opposition to my statements during the 2010—

Honourable Members:

Honourable members interjecting—

Ms Anna Burke (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Cowper is warned! The Prime Minister has the call.

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

I refer the Leader of the Opposition to my statements during the 2010 campaign that our nation should have an emissions trading scheme. Indeed, if the Leader of the Opposition wants to get himself involved in the history books, he should look at his own statements in favour of a price on carbon and, if he has still got some time left—heaven knows he must have a lot of time; he does not do any policy work—maybe he could get out former Prime Minister Howard's statements on an emissions trading scheme. Maybe he could look at the documents that the cabinet he sat in authorised for publication, committing the then Howard government—of which he says he was proud to be a part—to putting a price on carbon. Yes, we will get to that emissions trading scheme through a fixed price for three years—what is referred to as a carbon tax.

The Leader of the Opposition will never be able to walk away from his track record of having supported a price on carbon; he will never be able to say to the Australian people that his scheme is cheaper per tonne of carbon pollution; and he will never be able to say to the Australian people that, if he was ever Prime Minister, prices would somehow mysteriously go down. It is time for this mendacious campaign to end. (Time expired)