Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Treasurer) Share this | Hansard source

You have not. Here we go: a $540 million tax with zero transitional assistance. And why? Because their emissions intensity is too low. So, because their emissions intensity is too low, they will not be getting any transitional assistance. And, despite their emissions intensity being too low, they are still top of the list. They are still top of the carbon tax chart. They are still the number one 'polluter'—that is how the Prime Minister talks about them. The Prime Minister talks about 500 polluters. The number one polluter—in the language of the Prime Minister—is Macquarie Generation. They are the top of the charts. They are going to be number one on Labor's carbon tax hit list, paying $540 million of tax with zero transitional assistance. Now we are told that the reason they are getting zero transitional assistance is that they are too environmentally efficient. If they were less environmentally efficient—if their carbon intensity were higher—we are told that the Gillard Labor government would be providing them with assistance. Instead, they are going to face the full brunt. And electricity consumers in New South Wales will face the full brunt of this, Senator Thistlethwaite, either as consumers or as taxpayers in the state of New South Wales.

When we ask the government to provide an explanation as to why that is sensible policy, they cannot tell us that. All the minister glibly says is, 'I refer to my previous answer.' And the previous answer was a nonanswer; the previous answer was a description of what is in the legislation, not an explanation as to why. Then we had the glib comment that that is the expert advice. Minister, you should be prepared to tell us in your own words—in the government's own words—as to why you think it appropriate for zero transitional assistance to go to a power generator that is responsible for 40 per cent of the energy supply of New South Wales and that is going to be hit with a $540 million tax. I am not holding my breath. I suspect that you have not got an answer to that.

Quite frankly, Minister, this is just another example that demonstrates the absolutely ludicrous nature of this carbon tax, which will push up the cost of everything, make Australia less competitive internationally, make more polluting businesses in other parts of the world more competitive and help more polluting businesses in places like China take market share away from businesses in Australia. That in turn will shift emissions from Australia to other parts of the world, which will cost jobs in Australia and result in lower real wages. Prices will go up. That will result in Australia having a smaller economy than we otherwise would have had. And all of that without doing anything to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions. We are imposing all of this cost and sacrifice on all Australians, including electricity consumers in New South Wales, for no purpose whatsoever. And you are not even prepared to provide a proper explanation in the chamber of the rationale for it.