Joe Ludwig (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Williams. Unlike Senator Williams or those opposite perhaps, I do care about workers who have lost their jobs. It is an area where—having worked in that field—trying to then tie it shamelessly to this issue is, I think, beyond the pale. Treasury modelling shows that the carbon price will increase household electricity prices by 10 per cent, and rulings by state electricity regulators are confirming this impact. If you look at the analysis last year, big switch projects on large business users demonstrated an average rise of about 11 per cent due to the carbon price. What has been happening which those opposite do not really want to talk about is that large businesses and many network companies have been increasing demand charges by as much as 75 per cent, which is resulting in overall bill increases of up to 53 per cent. (Time expired)