Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Climate Change and Water) Share this | Hansard source

I have tabled in this place already quite a significant amount of information about our analysis of Frontier. Whilst others in this chamber have been very courteous towards you, no-one is supporting this policy. I am not sure what it is you are asking the government to do. We have a clear policy commitment. We have considered what you have put to us and we do not think it is the appropriate way forward. We have provided information to you and to the Australian people on the public record on why we do not agree, why we do not think this is a sensible policy. You have acknowledged today that your package does not involve any household compensation; you say that it is not needed. I respectfully disagree. Under Frontier, on the documents we have provided to you, there is an increase in prices and there is no household assistance from what you have just said. That does matter to people on low incomes.

One of the benefits of the scheme the government has put forward is that it enables the government to provide assistance to households to help cover the cost of climate change. Senator Abetz suggests that it is because we want to give out cheques, but it is actually because we want to implement this change in a way that is fair. We want to do this fairly. We do think assisting households is important as the carbon price is introduced. We have unashamedly skewed our assistance to low- and lower-middle-income Australians.

I am happy to continue to discuss with you, Senator, what it is you would want. We have provided a significant amount of information. It is not government policy. We do not intend to go down a path that, with respect, is not supported by the business community or others. If you want to have a discussion about what more you would like to talk about then I am happy to do that. But if you asking me to commit the government to putting a lot of resources into developing this proposal as government policy, the answer is that this is not government policy. We have made that clear. We do not believe it is the sensible way forward, for the reasons I have outlined.