Chris Bowen (McMahon, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. Before the election, the Prime Minister promised all significant government decisions should be considered by cabinet before they are announced rather than subsequently presented as done deals. Prime Minister, where and when did the cabinet meet last week before agreeing to all the Palmer United Party's amendments in 15 minutes?

Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am absolutely delighted to get question after question from the Labor Party on the carbon tax, because they support the carbon tax and we oppose it. We want to scrap the carbon tax; they want to keep it. We told the truth about the carbon tax before the election and they did not. They claimed not just that they had terminated the thing but that they had abolished it. Let me say again, the Labor Party abolished the carbon tax in the same way that the Labor Party abolished the deficit. Absolute, total, complete frauds, that is what members opposite are on this matter.

Mr Dreyfus interjecting—

Let me be absolutely crystal clear, yet again—

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Before I call the Leader of the Opposition, I would simply say that the Prime Minister used the term 'fraud' as a broad generic. The member for Isaacs used the term deliberately towards the Prime Minister himself. The member for Isaacs knows perfectly well that it is unparliamentary to use that term to an individual. He also knows that when it is used as a generic across a broad spectrum of people it does not so infringe. Remember that.

Bill Shorten (Maribyrnong, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Madam Speaker, I raise a point of order about relevance. The Prime Minister was asked when his cabinet met consistent with the promises they made before the election. Will you ask this tricky Prime Minister to be relevant?

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I would remind the Leader of the Opposition that it is not merely an invitation to repeat the question when raising a question of relevance.

Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Let me be absolutely crystal clear, every time cabinet meets we reiterate our opposition to the carbon tax and our determination to see the back of the carbon tax as quickly as possible, because the carbon tax is a nine per cent impost on power prices, a $9 billion a year handbrake on the economy, a $550 a year hit on the average household's cost of living.

Mr Burke interjecting—

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Watson will desist.

Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

For all these reasons, every time the cabinet meet we say, 'Lets get rid of the carbon tax.' Unlike members opposite, when we meet we do not say to ourselves, 'Will we terminate or abolish it?'. We do it. We do not play games with the carbon tax. We do not say we are against it before the election and love it after the election. We always thought the carbon tax was absolutely toxic. It was bad policy based on a lie. That is what it was; that is what it is. We are against it; Labor are for it. We will get rid of it as soon as we humanly can.