Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Finance) Share this | Hansard source

It is important to deal with this legislation as speedily as possible in order to provide certainty to business and to provide confidence to business that the cost of electricity is going to come down, that the cost of doing business is going to come down, that international competitiveness is going to go up, that businesses in Australia will be better at competing in overseas markets and that businesses in Australia will be better at competing against imports coming in from overseas.

Do you know what? Mr Shorten actually knows that it would be the right thing to do. Mr Shorten knows that this is what would happen. Mr Shorten knows that if we scrap the carbon tax it will strengthen the economy and create more jobs. But he is too weak to stand up to the Greens and the Left in the Labor Party. He cannot put the national interest ahead of trying to hold onto his job as leader of the Labor Party. He is not behaving like a potential leader of the nation; he is just behaving like a union leader in exile who is trying to hold onto his job. It is time that he focused on the national interest. (Time expired)