John Williams (NSW, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister representing the Minister for Climate Change and Energy Efficiency, Senator Wong. I refer the minister to the additional costs imposed on Mr Col Quast, a turkey farmer in Tamworth, who will pay $582 per month more for electricity as a direct result of the government's carbon tax and could pay up to $7,000 more over the course of the year. This comes as IBISWorld recently estimated that farmers will be hit with a massive $3.2 billion increase in annual costs as a result of the carbon tax. Given the carbon tax has now been in operation for a little over a month and a half, can the minister advise the Senate: by how much does the government expect global temperatures to be reduced by the extra costs being paid by Mr Quast and all Australian farmers?

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Finance and Deregulation) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I trust that the senator has recovered from the vicious attack on him by Mr Costello recently. In relation to the last part of his question, the answer is: by the same amount as your policy but at lower cost to the economy, including to farmers and to households. That might be something Senator Williams might want to be aware of within the coalition party room—that he is actually signing up a policy that has the same environmental outcome but at higher costs, with tax cuts for everyone earning $80,000 each year being taken back by the coalition. That is the policy he signed up for, and I suspect there would be a few constituents in his neck of the woods who would be interested in that.

In terms of the Tamworth turkey farmer, the advice I have from the minister is that the farmer quoted in the newspaper today had a carbon price impact of around 6.5 per cent on his electricity bill. This is in fact under that anticipated by Treasury modelling. On that farmer's electricity bill, the New South Wales government's increase in network charges accounted for around double the carbon price. So I would hope that the senator would take up his argument with the New South Wales government with double the intensity with which he is taking up the argument in this chamber given that the majority of the increase, I am advised, in fact flows from state government component increases—that is, network increase charges. That same person, depending on their income, may well be eligible for the government's tax cuts and the small business tax cuts that I referred to in response to the question from Senator Sinodinos.

John Williams (NSW, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. Given that the carbon tax will also increase the costs of fertiliser, feed, plastic bags and boxes and that it is very difficult to estimate by how much the carbon tax will increase these prices, by how much does the government expect the carbon tax to increase the annual costs of an Australian turkey farmer?

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Finance and Deregulation) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I have answered that question in relation to the carbon price impact for the relevant turkey farmer on his electricity bill. If the senator is interested in the agricultural sector, I would remind him that the government has put in place the Carbon Farming Initiative. That is a $1.7 billion land sector package to reinvest carbon price revenue in our land sector, including through the Biodiversity Fund and the Carbon Farming Futures package.

I also note that the Treasury modelling shows that, with agricultural emissions excluded from the carbon price, gross output in the agricultural sector is projected to be higher with a carbon price than without, and the sector is projected to grow by over 130 per cent by 2050. That modelling does not, of course, include the programs for assistance to the sector in the clean energy future package.

John Williams (NSW, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a further supplementary question. Given that Australia's farming sector is already working in a difficult environment, with rising costs, a high Australian dollar and red tape, can the minister explain why the government is so insistent upon making life tougher for Australian farmers by imposing the world's biggest and most expensive carbon tax for no environmental gain?

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Finance and Deregulation) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

With respect to the senator, he really is going through the motions. It is the same question I have been asked time and time again. I have responded and the government has responded. The reality is that the intensity of the scare campaign of Senator Williams, Senator Joyce, Mr Abbott and so many of those opposite is, frankly, fading with the reality that the carbon price impact is pretty much around where Treasury and the government said it would be. That is the reality. If the senator is concerned about regional Australia, I would hope that he would recognise that this government is in fact investing more in regional Australia than any other previous Australian government, with $1.8 billion over six years for the health and hospitals fund, two regional priority rounds—$500 million in the regional priority round for the Education Investment Fund—and so many others. (Time expired)