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

The most important thing that the Senate can do straightaway to improve living standards by reducing the cost of living and supporting Australian jobs is to repeal the world's biggest carbon tax. The world's biggest carbon tax was already high enough, but last week, because of the Labor-Greens majority that existed in this place, it got even higher. The former Senate refused to respect the outcome of the election last year. On the subject of election mandates, we must not forget that in 2010 the Labor Party went to the election promising there would be no carbon tax. In 2013 they went to the election pretending that 'Kevin Rudd and Labor have removed the carbon tax,' yet now, just as in 2010, Labor comes into this parliament and seeks to repudiate its own election commitments.