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

I cannot assist the senator with what may or may not be part of the government's announcement, although I have no doubt that when it is made there will be a great many questions asked in this place and the senator will have a substantial amount of opportunity to ask me and other members of the government about these and other issues. On the general issue of transitional assistance, the senator will know that one of the reasons the government in its previous package sought to provide free permits was as transitional assistance, recognising the importance of sensible transitioning of the economy. As we are a Labor government and our focus is first on jobs, we obviously did want to ensure sensible assistance. In terms of the incentive to abate, Senator, I am happy to discuss that in future questions.