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

Mr President, I rise on a point of order. Earlier this week the minister asserted that free carbon permits would reduce the cost of the carbon tax impact on exporting businesses. I asked a very specific question: how many of the 42,500-plus exporting businesses will actually receive such free permits? There is only one answer that can be directly relevant to that question, and that is a number. Either the minister knows what the number is or she does not. There is nothing else that can be directly relevant to that question.