Ken Wyatt (Hasluck, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Foreign Affairs. Will the minister update the House on international approaches to taxing carbon? How will scrapping the carbon tax bring Australia into line with our trading partners?

Ms Julie Bishop (Curtin, Liberal Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Hasluck for his question. He knows, as do other members on this side of the House, that the coalition is taking strong and effective action on climate change. We are delivering on our target to reduce emissions through our Direct Action plan.

Opposition Members:

Opposition members interjecting—

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

The member for Scullin can excuse himself.

The member for Scullin then left the chamber.

Ms Julie Bishop (Curtin, Liberal Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

We are working constructively with others to secure a new global climate agreement, in 2015. If measured against the same benchmarks, our target of five per cent reduction in emissions on 2000 levels is a comparable commitment across a range of measures to the United States and Canada and Korea and our other major trading partners. In fact Australia's commitment means that we will have the highest emissions reduction per capita in the world. Australia and the United States also have comparable policy approaches on carbon emissions. Just as we have rejected a tax on carbon, the United States Climate Action Plan, like our Direct Action Plan, does not include a carbon price, nor emissions trading, nor a carbon tax. Likewise, G20 members including Argentina, Brazil—

Mr Conroy interjecting—

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

The member for Charlton will desist.

Ms Julie Bishop (Curtin, Liberal Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Canada, India, Indonesia, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Turkey do not have nor plan to introduce an emissions trading scheme or a carbon tax. In fact there is no arrangement anywhere in the world which mirrored the economy-wide fixed carbon tax imposed by the Labor government. Until it was repealed today, the carbon tax was a fixed $25.40 per tonne. Even the European Union's emissions trading scheme was only $8 a tonne. Labor's carbon tax was a $7.6 billion hit on the economy in its first year and it did virtually nothing to reduce global greenhouse emissions.

The repeal of the carbon tax today will be a relief to many businesses. I quote from Tourism Accommodation Australia, which has a number of small businesses in its membership. It spoke of profit reductions of up to 12 per cent attributable to increased costs related to the carbon tax. We know that Labor's tax was actually designed to drive up prices and make Australia less competitive. Its own report warned that some regions of Australia would be vulnerable to large-scale loss of livelihood as a result of the implementation of a carbon price. That is not even code. That meant massive job losses attributable to the carbon tax.

This government will take a responsible approach to the issue so that we play our part in protecting the environment without unnecessary and punitive taxes which were so out of step with the rest of the world. Every time energy prices went up under Labor's tax, it increased pressure on our small businesses. That has now gone. We have repealed the tax. We are in line with the rest of the world.