Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Finance and Deregulation) Share this | Hansard source

I congratulate the senator for yet again managing to get the tactics committee to give him a head start. It does not appear to be very democratic over there, but he certainly does very well in terms of getting a number of questions.

Of course the question put to me is not really a question; it is another rant which includes a whole range of assertions, some of which may not be correct. There is really no question at the end of it, because the senator and the opposition are not interested in actually asking a question. They are simply interested in bringing into this place the same sort of dishonest scare campaign that we saw for months and months and months in the lead-up to 1 July and which we are still seeing.

Although I note that Mr Abbott is starting to backtrack ever so slightly in his comments today on electricity prices from the previous position where he denounced the Prime Minister's proposition that there are other things at play in electricity prices as an absolute furphy. So we are seeing even Mr Abbott starting to shift back when it comes to the scare campaign because he knows that it is no longer tenable to be telling people that the carbon price will shut down all industries. He knows that it is no longer tenable to be telling people that Whyalla will be wiped off the face of the map. This is the harsh reality that those opposite are dealing with.

As the senator knows, we have put in place a comprehensive package, a package which also addresses international competitiveness through the provision of free permits, something which is not addressed in the coalition's policy which would simply impose a tax on all Australian households of $1,300 a year. The highest carbon price on offer is that proposed by those opposite. (Time expired)