Louise Pratt (WA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I concur with Senator Payne that it is always a pleasure to participate in this debate, but it does seem to have lost its momentum in the last few days. It is very hard to see where the opposition were trying to go with their questions in question time today. In part I think that is attributable to the fact that they simply do not listen to the answers that they receive; nor do they even begin to contemplate the facts behind our carbon policy or indeed the carbon debate from beginning to end. For example, Senator Fifield asked about the impact on community groups—how would the Scouts or the Girl Guides or any other community group deal with the prospective impact of the carbon price? The government has a very clear answer to that. Communities need to be assisted when adjusting to a low-carbon future. They need assistance with modifying community infrastructure so that their electricity bills are lower. This is exactly why the Gillard government is expanding the Low Carbon Communities program. It is a program for both low-income households and communities so that community facilities—things like stadiums, education facilities, Scout halls, town halls and even nursing homes—can update their facilities and help reduce their electricity costs. We know that this is something the whole nation needs to do and it is exactly how our carbon approach is framed. We are also helping low-income households with an offset of any cost-of-living increase. We know that, on average, households will have a rebate of about $10 a week and we know that the average cost to households will be about $9 a week. We take our compensation to house­holds very seriously.

On top of this we have a low-income energy efficiency program. We know these programs work. I have worked very closely with people in Western Australia who deliver these programs. They go to people's houses and assist them in working through what they need to do to adjust their electricity costs. That is a lot more than I can say for what Colin Barnett is doing. In Western Australia over the last three years we have seen electricity costs rise by 50 per cent—that is, a 50 per cent increase with no compensation.

On the other hand, the Gillard government very clearly understands the cost-of-living pressures faced by Australians, particularly pensioners and low-income households. That is why under our Clean Energy Futures program we are compensating households. The questions from the opposition simply make no sense.

I will move on to some other answers. As the opposition has invited me to comment on the answers given by Senator Evans, I would like to pass comment on Senator Evans's answer to my own question. He highlighted that the Liberal Party have again failed to rule out cutting penalty rates for millions of Australian workers. Where does that leave us on the cost-of-living question? It leaves millions of Australian families vulnerable. Millions of Australian families rely on penalty rates. We know that Andrew Robb had the opportunity to give families certainty on these questions but he did not. In fact, he said on 16 August:

... we are waiting to see what industry says the failings are of the Fair Work Act.

If industry say that they do not like penalty rates, won't that mean Australian workers are going to have their penalty rates slashed? That sounds like something the Liberal Party are seriously considering. They refuse to rule it out. They simply say, 'We're reviewing the act, so we will wait.' (Time expired)