Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Finance and Deregulation) Share this | Hansard source

The Treasurer has made clear publicly that we will be accounting in the normal way, when final decisions have been made, for the introduction of a carbon price, and we will do that. But, as Senator Cormann well knows, we have not made a decision about price or about coverage, other than the exception of agriculture, which I spoke about earlier this week. We have not yet made decisions, because we want to consult with industry about industry assistance, about transitional assistance and about managing energy security in the electricity sector.

Let us get some facts and some sensible policy discussion into this debate. This is a ridiculous question. It is utterly ridiculous to try to make politics out of the fact that the Treasurer has said, quite self-evidently, that if we have not made a final decision about how a carbon price will be effected—the key decisions about price and so forth—then of course we will adjust the budget figures after those decisions have been made. It is a bit like the question you asked yesterday or the day before; I cannot recall—it is completely inconsistent, completely incoherent and driven only by your political biases.