Marise Payne (NSW, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for COAG) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Social Housing and Homelessness. How many low-income earners in private rental accommodation, who are already coping with rents rising well above inflation, does the government expect to be pushed over the edge into social housing by the government’s carbon tax?

Mark Arbib (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Social Housing and Homelessness) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

You can hear it a mile away—here comes the scare campaign. Once again, Senator Payne raises the carbon scare campaign. They tried it yesterday in the House of Representatives and they are trying it again here.

Opposition Senators:

Opposition senators interjecting—

John Hogg (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! It would help the chamber if those on my left desisted.

Mark Arbib (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Social Housing and Homelessness) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Once again, they take the low road in terms of policy. Senator Payne knows full well the amount of investment that the Gillard government is putting into social housing as part of the stimulus—the stimulus that coalition senators voted against and which right now is providing 19,300 public housing homes for people on housing waiting lists. Also, 50 per cent of those are going to people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. This is the commitment that the Gillard government has to social housing. All Senator Payne has is a scare campaign.

We make absolutely no apology for putting forward a policy to put a price on carbon. It is the right thing to do and it is the right time to do it. The government of course has talked about support for households, has talked about support for effective businesses. That is something that the government will pursue and that will be discussed over time. In the meantime, while that is all being discussed and negotiated, we will reject the scare campaign of Mr Abbott, the Leader of the Opposition, and reject the scare campaign Senator Payne is running throughout the housing sector.

Marise Payne (NSW, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for COAG) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. Given that the Housing Industry Association estimates that the government’s carbon tax will add $6,240 to the cost of building an average house based on a starting price of $26 per tonne, how does the minister expect developers to absorb those costs and to keep up with the increasing demand for social housing?

Mark Arbib (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Social Housing and Homelessness) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Payne is quoting from a report from the Housing Industry Association from 2008. We totally reject the figures they have put forward. It is impossible for any organisation to come up with those sorts of figures given that there has been no price set on carbon. There are no details yet in terms of household assistance, and that was not taken into account in any way by the Housing Industry Association. We know that the coalition have one policy here—they have a scare campaign. That is it. It would have been nice if Senator Payne and coalition senators, being so concerned about social housing, had voted for the stimulus—19,300 homes and 80,000 repair and maintenance jobs on homes. The coalition rejected that. (Time expired)

Marise Payne (NSW, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for COAG) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a further supplementary question. Can the minister advise how many workers in emissions-intensive trade-exposed sectors will lose their jobs as a result of the government’s carbon tax, and if so how many? Can the government guarantee that no-one will be worse off under the great big carbon tax?

John Hogg (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The minister can answer that part of the question that impacts on the portfolio he represents.

Mark Arbib (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Social Housing and Homelessness) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am surprised by the question because it is outside my portfolio.

Marise Payne (NSW, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for COAG) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Multiskilling!

Mark Arbib (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Social Housing and Homelessness) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Well, the Multi-Party Climate Change Committee is currently looking at the issue of a price on carbon. They will certainly be looking at the details in terms of the establishment of a price. They will also be looking at household assistance and assistance for businesses that are affected. Until that time, I think any questions from Senator Payne are premature. Again, I totally reject, as does the government, the scare campaign that Senator Payne and the Leader of the Opposition are running.