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

My question is to the Minister representing the Minister for Climate Change and Energy Efficiency, Senator Ludwig. I refer the minister to his answer yesterday, when he erroneously asserted that the Gillard government was providing comparable protection to export businesses from the impact of its carbon tax as that provided to businesses in Europe under their ETS. Is the minister aware that the European Union has classified approximately 160 industry sectors as trade exposed and, through exclusions or the provision of free carbon permits, effectively exempted them from having to pay any carbon price, while the Australian government has identified just 45 activities as trade exposed and worthy of a share of free permits? Why are European coal producers, for example, fully protected from the impact of the European carbon price, while Australian coal producers are not? Why are the jobs in that sector and in more than 120 other industry sectors in Europe worthy of protection from the impact of the European carbon price while the jobs in Australia in the same sectors are not? (Time expired)