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

My question is to the Prime Minister. I refer again to the Prime Minister's $2½ billion dirty deal to pay big polluters. Eminent economists have said that $4 billion to $5 billion per year will have to be paid to big polluters to reach Australia's emissions reduction target. Given that his dirty deal does not add up, can the Prime Minister confirm how much more he will take from Australian families to pay big polluters to achieve the emissions reduction target?

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

I call the honourable the Prime Minister, but I would say that I hope that the term that is being used to describe the deal as it is put is not a reflection on the member for Fairfax. That would be improper. It did sound a bit like it. I call the honourable the Prime Minister.

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

I am delighted to get this question from the Leader of the Opposition because it gives me yet another opportunity to tell the House and to tell the Australian people that this government supports direct action. We do not support carbon taxes. Whether they are fixed taxes or floating taxes by way of an emissions trading scheme, we do not support carbon taxes. The great thing about the Direct Action Plan is that it is incentives and not penalties. We will never—

Mr Dreyfus interjecting—

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

The member for Isaacs will desist.

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

whack the Australia economy with a $9 billion Australian handbrake. We will never whack households with a $550 a year charge. We will never put in place policies that will reduce the steel industry by 20 per cent or reduce the aluminium industry by 60 per cent. We will never put in place policies that would reduce our GDP by a cumulative $1 trillion by mid century. We will never put in place policies that would reduce gross national income per person by $4,000. That is what a carbon tax or an emissions trading scheme, beloved by Labor, would do. There are dumb ways to reduce emissions and there are smart ways. We will support Direct Action—the best way to reduce emissions and that the same time helping our economy.