Anne Urquhart (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

That is right. Mr Hockey said they do not drive cars. I know a lot of people who live in regional Australia and are on low incomes and they do have to drive cars, because they have no other way to get around. This is the sort of thing, along with the rest of the stuff the government is introducing through their nasty budget, that will continue to hit those on low incomes, the poor, the elderly, the sick—the list goes on and on. These are the people who cannot afford to have this nasty, sneaky, tricky and gutless tax imposed on them.

Again, Senator Macdonald got it right. I do not very often agree with those on the opposite benches, but Senator Macdonald got it right when he said, 'Anything that increases the price of fuel and increases the cost of living is bad for people in regional Australia.' What is worse is the fact that the government is now saying that if they do not get their way in 12 months—that is, if they do not get it put through—they would be happy to hand it all back to their friends in the big oil companies. So don't worry about those on low incomes, don't worry about the people who are struggling: 'We will give it to the big oil companies.' (Time expired)