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

The Leader of the Opposition in the Senate, Senator Abetz, has moved a motion that will allow the Labor senators in this chamber to retain, and redeem themselves with, some of the integrity they have lost with the passage of these bills through the parliament so far. Just before the last election, on several occasions the Leader of the Labor Party promised the Australian people there would be no carbon tax under a government she led, and her deputy, Mr Swan, repeated that promise. I appreciate that Ms Gillard, in her absolute determination to retain the trappings of office as Prime Minister, was prepared to make any deal with anybody simply to retain her residence at the Lodge and to retain the big white cars. She even went to that party that we all now know, and have known for a long time, is full of absolute hypocrisy—that is, the Greens political party. She did a deal with the greatest hypocritical party ever seen in this Senate to stay in office, and the deal was: we will roll over to the Greens political party and introduce a carbon tax, notwithstanding that we promised the Australian public solemnly that we would not do that.

I appreciate, as our leader has said, that sometimes you are required to change your mind. In Ms Gillard's case, it was simply to retain the trappings of power as Prime Minister. If she had any intestinal fortitude, if she had any integrity at all, she would have said, 'Okay, let's have a carbon tax but let's do what John Howard did: let's go back to the Australian people, tell the Australian people that we are now going to introduce a carbon tax and let the Australian people have a say.' As a Queensland senator, I am absolutely shattered and disgusted that several Labor members in my home state of Queensland were elected on the basis that they promised there would be no carbon tax. I refer particularly to Ms Kirsten Livermore, who is currently and for a little while longer the Labor Party member for Capricornia. Her electorate will have most to lose if the carbon tax is actually introduced. Ms Livermore said before the last election that she would not vote for a carbon tax, and a couple of weeks ago in the House of Representatives she did the exact opposite. I know from the time I spend in Rockhampton and Central Queensland that her constituents are absolutely livid with Livermore because she has breached their trust and betrayed them. Her electorate, more than any in Queensland, depends upon the coalmining industry. If you go to that electorate, Madam Acting President, you will see along the Yeppoon coast, around Emu Park, the literally thousands of new houses that have sprung up there. They are houses that have principally been acquired by families whose breadwinner works in the coalmines of Central Queensland. They are the people whose jobs will be at risk. The Labor Party and the Greens have threatened to shut down the coalmining industry, which will have a devastating effect on the Central Queensland economy and all of the workers in the Rockhampton area who work in that industry. This carbon tax will attack their jobs and, more importantly, the livelihoods and futures of their families. The mortgages on their houses could well be put at risk with the passage of this bill. If the carbon tax were going to do one iota of good for the environment then you might almost understand why Ms Gillard lied and changed her mind. We all know that this tax will not make one iota of difference to the world's climate. What it will do is destroy the jobs and livelihoods of many people like those people in the electorate of Capricornia.