Marise Payne (NSW, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for COAG) Share this | Hansard source

It is interesting that so many people in such a small space can be in such an absolute state of denial as the entire government is—a state of denial about the impacts that its policy will have on business and small business in this country and in particular the impacts it will have on the sorts of organisations that Senator Fifield spoke about in his question today—volunteer organisations and the not-for-profit sector. They will receive no support, no compen­sation and not even any acknowledgement from those on the other side about the impact of the government's policy on their oper­ations. How are small businesses meant to deal with the sorts of imposts that the carbon tax will place on them?

Yesterday we heard from Senator Wong that people building new houses apparently do not need to bother about a possible $5,000 increase in the costs of building a new home. Apparently that is something we can blithely wipe away with the sweep of a hand. It is not important. But if you ask people who are budgeting to the last dollar in building a new home, they might say that it is important. They might think that the impact of this government's carbon tax on the future of their home and their family is important even if all the government is capable of is being dismissive of it. What will actually happen to homeowners, to renters, to builders, to manufacturers across Australia who are already struggling under the cost-of-living rises that Labor's financial mismanagement has caused and who are looking at a worsen­ing housing shortage? That continues to be completely ignored by the government. We are still waiting for a housing status supply report, which has been overdue since April, and the reappointment of the National Housing Supply Council was not even made until this year when it was meant to be made in 2010. That just shows the level of interest that this government professes in these issues.

If you are a homeowner already facing higher electricity costs and gas bills and water bills, if you have rents rising above inflation if you happen to be a renter, then extra imposts from the carbon tax can only hurt you. They cannot be dismissed out of hand. How are small business people trying to maintain their own home and run their own business while receiving no compen­sation going to cope? There is no answer to that or to many other questions. Most amus­ingly, when the government does end up under a tiny weeny bit of pressure, what does it do? Minister Plibersek, in the other place, implies that the homes of pensioners on the Central Coast are facing inundation. How is it appropriate management of government policy to make people think that their homes are under immediate threat and scare them? It is pretty simple—it is a scare tactic, and it does not work. The member for Lindsay, Mr Bradbury, when asked to advise a local hospital on how it might deal with an increase in its electricity bill of about $300,000, responded by saying in reference to the imposition of the carbon tax—and let us bear in mind that nobody is arguing that no action be taken; the opposition is arguing in favour of direct action on climate change—

Government senators interjecting—

You should listen to this—it is fascinating and some might say hilarious. Mr Bradbury said:

Without taking action, Australia is expected to experience higher rates of infectious and vector-borne diseases as well as food and waterborne diseases.

That is from David Bradbury, the member for Lindsay. How can we take this seriously? How can the Australian people take this seriously? Someone tell Nepean Hospital how to pay $300,000 more in electricity bills. There are no answers coming from the government—there are no answers coming to small business; there are no answers coming to struggling homeowners; there are no answers coming to subbies in the building industry who want to know how they are going to cope. Frankly, there is no hope for them if this is the sort of display that the government continues to put on.