Christopher Back (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. Many of the struggling companies in the Industry Update Unit's report to the minister have indicated increased competition from cheap overseas imports and their own uncompetitiveness overseas in our export markets, especially Asia, as key reasons for their dire circumstances. I ask the minister: how did the government not see this coming when most credible commentators warned of its inevitability? Why did the government introduce a carbon tax, imposing a 10 per cent burden on our own companies in that circumstance?