Bridget McKenzie (Victoria, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister representing the Minister for the Environment and the Minister representing the Minister for Trade and Investment, Senator Cormann. Can the minister inform the Senate about the impact of the carbon tax on globally trade-exposed industries in highly competitive markets, in particular the impact on agricultural businesses?

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

I thank Senator McKenzie for that question and for her strong commitment to the sustainability and competitiveness of agricultural businesses. Every day that Labor obstructs the abolition of the carbon tax is another day they stand for higher electricity prices. Every day Labor stands in the way of the abolition of the carbon tax they stand in the way of bringing down the cost of doing business in Australia and they stand in the way of improving our international competitiveness; improving international competitiveness, of course, for industries like the car industry or the agricultural industry indeed. Labor knows that the carbon tax pushes up the cost of doing business because that is what they designed it to do. And for businesses operating in highly competitive markets there is often limited capacity for them to pass on increased costs which, of course, undermines their viability and puts jobs at risk.

I refer to comments made by the National Farmers Federation, which pointed out that for an average-sized farm, farmers are facing additional costs of up to $10,000 a year. I quote from evidence:

… agriculture remains a heavily affected sector due to the flow on costs allocated to electricity and transport, and by the pass through costs from agricultural processors.

Our farmers:

… were not only competing against heavily subsidised farmers from around the world, but also farmers in overseas countries without a carbon tax.

The National Irrigators' Council said last week:

When in Government the Labor Party claimed ‘electricity prices are too high by global standards’. We know. We are the ones paying the bills which have doubled.

The prices we receive for our products have certainly not doubled during that period.

…   …   …

Farmers are price takers who operate on low margins. A small increase in fixed costs can have a drastic impact on their profitability.

Labor's carbon tax operates as a reverse tariff and it should go. (Time expired)

Bridget McKenzie (Victoria, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I thank the minister for his comprehensive response and I ask a supplementary question: what policy options have been put to government to address the impact of the carbon tax on the international competitiveness of agricultural businesses?

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

The best policy option is the option that has been supported by the Australian people: to scrap the carbon tax altogether. It is time that the Labor Party got used to the idea that there was an election and that they lost, and that the Australian people voted to scrap the carbon tax.

Of course, we know that Senator Louise Pratt, the shadow parliamentary secretary for climate change—

Louise Pratt (WA, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for the Environment, Climate Change and Water) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

We know that you support the ETS!

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

Order! That is disorderly!

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Rule him out, Mr President!

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

campaigned in Western Australia and promised to terminate the carbon tax. No—

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

Order! That is disorderly!

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

But we do have another proposal by Mr Paul Howes, the National Secretary of the Australian Workers Union. He is the guy who once said that if one job were put at risk by the carbon tax he would oppose it. But, of course, many jobs have been put at risk by the carbon tax and he is not doing anything about it. But this was his latest proposal: instead of supporting our policy to axe the carbon tax he says that we need to axe ma and pa farming. Ma and pa farming! That is what he said. So when businesses struggle under a Labor tax all they want to do is social engineering instead of scrapping the tax, which they promised they would do. (Time expired)

Bridget McKenzie (Victoria, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a further supplementary question, and I do thank the minister for reminding the chamber of Paul Howes's comments. How will the coalition's Direct Action policy deliver better outcomes when dealing with the challenges related to climate change?

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

Labor's carbon tax just shifts emissions to other parts of the world, where the emissions will be higher for the same amount of economic output whereas what we are doing through our emissions reduction fund is reducing emissions in Australia in a way that actually achieves a net reduction in global emissions. That is why our policy is environmentally superior.

It is also superior economically because it does not disadvantage Australian businesses, and it seeks to leverage the capacity, in particular, of the agricultural industry to help us in achieving emissions reductions. So our policy, clearly, all the way round, is a superior policy. I would just add here that the agricultural and fishing industries in particular have helped us achieve emissions reduction of about 55 per cent over the past decade also. This is our policy, to achieve emissions reduction in Australia in a way that achieves action on genuine emissions reduction in the world. (Time expired)