Carol Brown (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Yes, and today of course we had puppies and kittens brought into the negative story that is being told by Mr Abbott. Mr Abbott has been saying that the carbon price will be the wrecking ball that destroys Australia. But, slowly and surely, Mr Abbott has had to back away from these claims. Slowly, the truth is catching up with Mr Abbott. I look forward to 1 July when the carbon price is implemented and the mother of all scare campaigns can come crashing down.

Mr Abbott knows he is spreading mistruths. He knows that his mindless negativity and falsehoods will catch up with him and that he will be exposed. We have seen him, as we have seen the rest of the opposition, slowly shift away from his earlier description of the carbon price. He has gone from calling the carbon price the wrecking ball that will destroy industries and wipe towns off the map to now describing it as a python. Mr Abbott knows that his absurdities will be exposed. I do look forward to the time when those falsehoods are exposed.

While Mr Abbott has focused on spreading mistruths we have been getting on with talking about the facts of our scheme. I will take this opportunity to examine those facts. The federal Labor government's clean energy future package will place a price on carbon, it will cut pollution and it will drive investment in clean energy technologies and infrastructure such as solar, gas and wind. Let us be clear: the carbon price will not be paid for by ordinary Australians. The carbon price is about making polluters pay. As such, only Australia's biggest polluters will pay the carbon price. All money raised by the carbon price will go to supporting jobs, to driving investment in clean energy technology and to households. This support to households through increased payments and tax cuts will be targeted to those who need it most. We will ensure pensioners, low- and middle-income earners and families doing it tough will be looked after. Nine out of 10 Australian households will receive assistance through a combination of tax and other increases to payments. Almost six million households will get tax cuts or increases to payments that cover the entire average price increase expected under a carbon price. Over four million Australian households will receive an extra buffer against the average price impact of the carbon price. These households will get assistance that is worth 120 per cent of the average price impact of the carbon price. All households will benefit from not having to pay the carbon price on any fuels including petrol, diesel and LPG for passenger motor vehicles. It is also worth remembering that this assistance is permanent, and the government will review the adequacy of the assistance each year and will increase it further if necessary.

Let me examine and refute the claim that Australia is going to do it alone internationally when it comes to the carbon price. While those opposite continue to wage their scare campaign, next week Australia will join more than three-quarters of the world's advanced economies in tackling climate change with an emissions trading scheme. The Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency has conducted an analysis that shows from 2013 there will be more than 50 national or subnational emission trading schemes in place around the world. These schemes will cover a combined population of more than 850 million people and account for around 30 per cent of the global economy, or 27 times the size of the Australian economy in 2012.

Whilst Mr Abbott and the Liberal opposition continue to engage in unfounded scare campaigns— (Timeexpired)