Eric Abetz (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Minister for Employment) Share this | Hansard source

the removal of the carbon tax, a carbon tax that the Leader of the Opposition in this place—herself a South Australian senator—sought to champion, did champion and got through to the great detriment of the automotive sector in this country. The recent media articles have highlighted the ineffectiveness on the environmental front whilst also highlighting the job-destroying and household-budget blowing impacts of the carbon tax. Let us be quite clear here: if the carbon tax was such a good idea why did the Labor Party rule it out before the 2010 election by saying there would be no carbon tax? If it was such a good idea, why did they campaign on that issue?

Honourable senators interjecting—