Ian Macdonald (Queensland, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Northern and Remote Australia) Share this | Hansard source

I wish to speak on the Commonwealth Grants Commission report 2010-11. In that you will see the grants that the Commonwealth, through the Grants Commission, makes to Queensland and other states and to various local governments around the country. In speaking to this particular document, I raise the question: what is going to happen when the carbon tax comes in and costs the Queensland government? I speak of Queensland because I am a Queensland senator, but the same would apply to everywhere else. When the carbon tax comes in on 1 July next year, what will happen with the cost of electricity, for example—just taking a small point—for every state government building? If you look around Brisbane at night-time you will see how many state government buildings there are and how many of them have lights on and electricity churning through. We all know, on the government's own figures, that electricity is going to go up 10 per cent. If you work on state government modelling from New South Wales and Victoria, it could be anywhere between 15 per cent and 20 per cent. I would suggest that their modelling is probably more accurate. All of this extra cost of electricity is going to have to be paid by the Queensland government. As well, every local authority in Queensland will be paying more for their water pumps and for the general electricity they currently use—and they use a lot of electricity. I wonder what the Commonwealth Grants Commission is going to do for the Queensland state government and local governments to make up for this huge additional tax that they will have to pay.

I have heard about compensation—not that I believe much of it. Why would you believe anything this Prime Minister said after she promised us there would not be a carbon tax under a government she led? Today she is celebrating and wildly throwing kisses around to acknowledge the absolute breach of that solid promise. So why would you believe anything she says? But she has said—

Senator Marshall interjecting—

No, I would not like to kiss Mr Rudd or, I might say, Ms Gillard, Senator Marshall. Take my word for that.