Matthew Canavan (Queensland, Liberal National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Assistant Minister for Education and Training, Senator Birmingham, representing the Minister for the Environment. Can the minister update the Senate on the savings delivered to households from the repeal of the carbon tax?

Simon Birmingham (SA, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Education and Training) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Canavan for his question. Indeed, I am pleased to tell Senator Canavan—because this applies to regional Queensland, which he represents so passionately, just as it does to the whole of Australia—that the repeal of the carbon tax has delivered the largest reduction in electricity prices on record, meaning good news for the cost of living for millions of Australian families and good news for Australian businesses of all sizes, the competitiveness of Australian businesses, the competitiveness of the Australian economy and, ultimately, the job prospects for growth around the Australian economy.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission have confirmed in their final carbon-tax-monitoring report that electricity prices are up to 12 per cent lower than they would have been with the carbon tax—12 per cent lower for Australian households and 12 per cent lower for Australian businesses across every state and territory. There is up to 12 per cent reduction in those prices, which confirms the Australian Treasury estimate that on average the carbon tax removal has saved Australian households $550.

Over the course of Labor's two years of the carbon tax, Australian households and businesses were slugged $15.4 billion in carbon tax fees. That was $15.4 billion less that households had to spend, $15.4 billion less that Australian businesses and industries had to invest in growing their businesses and in being competitive on the world stage. Ultimately we need to understand that the carbon tax removal is not just a saving to households but a saving to business. It makes our economy more competitive. It ties in with the rest of this government's job creation agenda by ensuring that our export and trading industries can best compete on the world stage by having the lowest-cost platform to do business.

Matthew Canavan (Queensland, Liberal National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. I note that the minister referred to the ACCC report of last month. I was wondering if the minister could provide some more details about how that report confirmed savings of $550 a year from the repeal of the carbon tax.

Simon Birmingham (SA, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Education and Training) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I can confirm that the report did identify that the $550 saving on average per year is genuine. It includes direct savings passed through to customers by electricity and natural gas retailers which range from $153 to $269 per household, as well as savings across a number of other sectors such as synthetic greenhouse gases, landfill, council rates and charges, food manufacturing, water charges, aviation fuel, liquid petroleum gas for non-transport use and off-road transport costs—a range of savings that are passed through the supply chain right across the economy to Australian households and businesses. Local councils are among some of the largest winners, with around $100 million of carbon tax charges to be returned to local councils and to be used to further help reduce Australia's emissions. Those councils will pass their savings through in further investment or through council rate reductions to their households. (Time expired)

Matthew Canavan (Queensland, Liberal National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a further supplementary question. Can the minister now please outline if there are any threats in the future to the benefits that have been delivered to households?

Simon Birmingham (SA, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Education and Training) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

There is one great big threat to Australian households and businesses, and that of course is Mr Bill Shorten and the Australian Labor Party and their proposal to bring back the carbon tax. Their proposal is to bring back a supercharged carbon tax, a carbon tax that will see prices skyrocket, not to the $24 that they charged when they were last in office but to an estimated $209 per tonne—under their own modelling. Modelling performed for the Labor Party when the Labor Party were in office demonstrates a carbon price hitting $209 per tonne.

That modelling, done by the Labor government for the Labor government, shows that their targets would see Australian income per person some $4,900 lower than would be the case without their new carbon tax. Real wages would be around six per cent lower. Australia's GDP would be around 2.6 per cent lower in 2030, hurting jobs growth in this country. (Time expired)