Simon Birmingham (SA, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for the Murray Darling Basin) Share this | Hansard source

Instead, the Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, and her changed circumstances have nothing to do with the policy merits of climate change action and everything to do with the balance of power in the House of Representatives. In the real world, where we in the Liberal and National parties live, we believe policies should be based on reality. We believe it is foolish to base your policy on purchasing international carbon credits when a credible market for such international carbon credits does not exist. We believe it is foolish to spend billions on dubious overseas action when you can take direct action here in Australia. That is what our policy seeks to achieve, in contrast to the policy of those opposite.

This carbon tax does not just fail its primary test of reducing emissions and creating, as Labor and the Greens like to claim, a 'clean energy future' for Australia; it also fails the tests of efficiency and fairness. From Labor's own modelling, their own optimistic estimates, we know that this policy leaves millions of Australian households worse off—at least three million and many millions more if the modelling is at all out in its estimates. We know that the number of households left worse off will increase over time as compensation erodes over time. From Labor's own modelling—again, their own optimistic assumptions—we know that all Australians face dramatic price rises from the middle of next year: 10 per cent extra for their electricity, nine per cent extra for their gas, ultimately more for fuel and ultimately more for everything that everybody uses.

These costs are not faced just by households; they are not faced just by families, pensioners, retirees or singles, by young or old, rich or poor. They are equally faced by state governments, local governments, charities, schools, hospitals—the list of people who face these economy-wide price rises is as big as your imagination. Then there are businesses. Most will pay, with little or no option available to offset those costs. Again, in the real world, we on this side recognise that electricity is already a huge input cost for many, many businesses. They already minimise use wherever possible. Under the carbon tax it will cost them more, but that does not mean they have greater opportunity to minimise their use of electricity; it just means they will have to pay more.

There is no compensation under this carbon tax package for Australia's biggest employer, the small-business sector. Small businesses, whatever their industry, whatever their service, whatever they provide, will again just have to pay. Yes, some businesses do receive some form of compensation, particularly those known as emissions-intensive trade-exposed industries, but they are not totally compensated, and the compensation they get erodes over time and is frequently limited to only certain parts of their business operations. So even those businesses that are identified as the businesses most vulnerable to this carbon tax regime face the real prospect of their work going offshore, their businesses going offshore and of course their carbon emissions going offshore.

This policy simply fails. It fails to reduce emissions in Australia, it fails to ensure global emissions are stabilised, let alone reduced, it fails to ensure Australian families are no worse off, it fails to protect Australian industry and jobs, it fails to ensure the budget does not plunge deeper into deficit—it fails on every test anyone can apply to it. What we will witness of course in the final days of this carbon tax debate are yet more acts of betrayal by the Labor Party, a party that is trying to implement a policy for political convenience not for policy good, a policy based on a lie at the last election. A policy that is bad policy today will be bad policy tomorrow and, until we see any form of global agreement, bad policy for the indefinite future. That is why we on this side oppose it now and will continue to oppose it until we can get the right policy for Australia's future.