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Tuesday, 20 March 2012
Page: 3488

Carbon Pricing

Mr ABBOTT (Warringah—Leader of the Opposition) (14:07): My question is to the Prime Minister. I remind the Prime Minister that every council, sports club, charity and community group across Australia will soon be paying higher bills under her carbon tax. Is the Prime Minister aware that if every one of Australia's 600,000 not-for-profit groups applied for compensation they would receive just $550? How will this help the Ayr Anzac Memorial Club, which faces a carbon tax hit on its power bill of over $16,000 a year and rising?

Ms GILLARD (Lalor—Prime Minister) (14:08): We are committed to seeing a cleaner energy future and to achieving that in the lowest cost way possible. That is the commitment of our government. The commitment of those on the other side is to impose the biggest possible cost they can think of right across Australian society, including on the very people that the Leader of the Opposition professes concern about. As we have structured our carbon-pricing plan we have structured it to get the reduction in carbon pollution that even the Leader of the Opposition says he supports—at the lowest possible cost. In doing so we have worked to support families, to support working people, to support people with children and to support pensioners with more money in their pockets and more disposable income. So of course that is relevant to how they can support their local sporting clubs.

Mr Christensen: Sixteen thousand dollars!

Ms GILLARD: This plan is in very sharp contrast to the Leader of the Opposition's plan to impose a bill—

Mr Christensen: Sixteen grand!

The SPEAKER: The honourable member for Dawson will remain silent for the balance of the Prime Minister's answer to the question.

Ms GILLARD: a $1,300 bill, on every family. That is the Leader of the Opposition's plan—an effective carbon price of $62 a tonne. That is the Leader of the Opposition's plan. Here on this side of the parliament—

Mr Pyne: Mr Speaker.

The SPEAKER: The Prime Minister will resume her seat. I am listening to the Manager of Opposition Business on a point of order.

Mr Pyne: Mr Speaker, I rise on a point of order. The Prime Minister was asked how her compensation package would help the Ayr Anzac Memorial Club, which faces a power bill—

Mr Dreyfus: What's your point of order!

The SPEAKER: The honourable member who interjected, the member for Isaacs, will remove himself from the chamber, under the provisions of standing order 94(a).

The member for Isaacs then left the chamber.

The SPEAKER: I called on the honourable member for Sturt. He has the opportunity to make his point of order. I will listen to it. I will rule on it. The Manager of Opposition Business will recommence his point of order and he will be heard in total silence.

Mr Pyne: The question the Prime Minister was asked was how her compensation package would help the Ayr Anzac Memorial Club, which faces a power bill rise of $16,000 a year. She is not attempting to answer that question.

The SPEAKER: It is very early in question time for the Manager of Opposition Business to be sent out.

Government members interjecting—

The SPEAKER: I do not need the assistance of honourable members on the government front bench. The Prime Minister had barely commenced her answer. I am sure that she is extremely anxious to get to the specifics of the question asked.

Ms GILLARD: I thank the member for Sturt for his point of order and I thank him for his frank statement. Let us not forget it was the opposition that first proposed an emissions trading scheme.

The SPEAKER: The Prime Minister will address the question.

Ms GILLARD: So I thank the member for Sturt for reminding us of the deep hypocrisy at the soul of the Liberal Party about putting a price on carbon.

The SPEAKER: The Prime Minister will pause. I have required other honourable members to withdraw the term 'hypocrisy', and the Prime Minister will withdraw.

Ms GILLARD: Mr Speaker, I withdraw. On this side of the parliament, we will work with the sporting clubs, the businesses, Australian workers and every part of Australian society to seize a clean energy future at the lowest possible cost. On that side of the parliament, when they do not stand for a contradiction, they stand for a bill for working families of $1,300 each.

Honourable members interjecting—

The SPEAKER: We are going to have an empty chamber.