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

Of all the broken promises and policy disasters of the former Labor government, none hangs around the neck of the Labor Party like a millstone more than the abandonment of its promise that there would be no carbon tax. The abolition of the carbon tax will correct that fundamental breach of faith with the electorate. In August, in the midst of the election campaign, a desperate then Prime Minister, Mr Rudd, admitted that in the past Labor governments had 'got a number of things wrong':

For example, I don't think our actions on the carbon tax were right. … to begin with, we didn't have a mandate for it.

He was absolutely right.

The Labor Party in this place this week have the capacity to right that wrong and once again re-establish faith with the Australian people. Indeed, Richard Marles, a Labor frontbencher, said, 'We must acknowledge the fact that Tony Abbott won the election and we lost.' (Time expired)