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CLEAN ENERGY LEGISLATION CARBON TAX REPEAL)BILL 2013

SECOND READING SPEECH

Madam Speaker,I introduce the Clean Energy Legislation (Carbon Tax Repeal) Bill2013.The Australian people have already voted upon this Bill.Now, the Parliament gets its chance.The 2013 election was a referendum on the Carbon Tax.The people have spoken.Now, it s up to the Parliament to show that it s listened.The Australian people have pronounced their judgment against theCarbon Tax: they want it gone.This bill delivers on the Coalition s commitment to the Australianpeople.t is also a cornerstone of the Government s plan for a stronger

economy built on lower taxes, less regulation and stronger businesses.

The Carbon Tax is bad for the economy and it s bad for Australia: itcosts jobs, hurts families and does nothing for the environment.Page 1 o l l

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When the price ofpower comes down, the Australian Competitionand Consumer Commission will be ready to ensure these pricereductions are passed on to households and businesses.BUT families and pensioners will keep the tax cuts and benefitincreases already provided.The carbon tax will go but the carbon tax compensation will stay sothat every Australian should be better off.Repealing the Carbon Tax will reduce costs for all Australianbusinesses, every single one of them.The previous Government argued that only big business paid theCarbon Tax.That's just not true. Every small business paid the Carbon Taxthrough higher electricity and gas bills and higher costs for supplies.The Carbon Tax also acts as a reverse tariff.Not only does the Carbon Tax make it more difficult for Australianbusinesses to compete abroad, it makes it more difficult for domesticbusinesses to compete at horne because there is no Carbon Tax onimports.As the Federal Chamber ofAutomotive Industries said in itssubmission to the Government, Australian manufacturers have beenat a commercial disadvantage as a result of the carbon price whencompared to imported motor vehicles.

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And as Canegrowers said the Carbon Tax has hurt the industry'sinternational competitiveness .Australian employers don t just pay the costs of the Carbon Tax-they also pay the costs of complying with it.Repealing the Carbon Tax also removes over 1,000 pages of primaryand subordinate legislation.

Repealing the Carbon Tax cuts the size of the climate changebureaucracy.So repealing the Carbon Tax will reduce the cost of living, make jobsmore secure and improve the competitive position of our country -Why would anyone be against that, especially when it s what theAustralian people have just voted for?Repealing the Carbon Tax is what the employers of Australia wantnow.The Business Council of Australia supports the wind-up of thecurrent carbon pricing mechanism given it places excessive costs onbusiness and households because (our) carbon charge ... is now one ofthe highest in the world .The Australian Food and Grocery Council welcomes the removal ofthe Carbon Tax as a step towards reducing the cost burden on foodand grocery manufacturers, which is impeding the industry'scompetitiveness and viability .

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Master Builders Australia says that the Carbon Tax has made worseAustralia's already low levels ofhousing affordabilityThe Minerals Council ofAustralia says that the Carbon Tax is adeadweight on the economy with a $1.6 billion a year burden on theminerals sector alone.The judgement ofAustralia's jobs providers is in and it's the sameas the Australian people: the Carbon Tax is hurting jobs and growth.It is not just our nation's businesses- big and small- that havecarried the burden of the Carbon Tax- it has also increased the costsof community organisations and not-for-profit groups as well as Stateand Local governments.The Carbon Tax has rippled through the economy -hitting schools,hospitals, nursing homes, charities, churches, council swimming poolsand community centres.It has hit each and every group and individual that uses power- andthat was always its goal, to make electricity more expensive.The intention of the previous government was to put power prices upbecause that was their way of reducing carbon emissions.The intention of the new government is to put power prices down byaxing this toxic tax and using other means to reduce emissions.By reducing the cost of electricity and gas, we will help to makehouseholds better off, workers more secure and our economystronger.

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Madam SpeakerNo one should be n any doubt - the Government is repealing theCarbon Tax n full.We are not playing word games or playing tactical political games -we are doing what we were elected to do.Others have said they would terminate the Carbon Tax but they wereonly renaming it.We are not renaming it.We are not floating it.We are not keeping the machinery in place so we can dust it off in thefuture.We are abolishing the Carbon Tax in full.We have said what we mean and we will do what we say the CarbonTax goes.

This bill is one of a package of bills that repeal the legislation thatestablished the Carbon Tax including the Clean Energy ct 2 11 andassociated Charges Acts and that also set up the bureaucraticprogrammes and structures to administer and support it.The bill is supported by four technical bills - to be introduced by theMinister for the Environment later today - that abolish the equivalent

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Carbon Tax applied through the fuel tax and excise system and thesynthetic greenhouse gas levies.Together, these bills will ensure that no business will incur a CarbonTax liability after 1 July 2014.They ensure that no equivalent Carbon Tax will apply from 1 July2014 on fuels used in shipping, rail and air transport or on syntheticgreenhouse gases.Repealing the Carbon Tax at the end o the financial year providescertainty for business and simplifies the transition.t means this Government will not be proceeding with the previous

government s legislated Carbon Tax increase that would have takeneffect from 1 July 2014.Our bill abolishes the tax in full.Labor s Carbon Tax changes for the on-road fuel costs o heavyvehicles that were going to commence on 1 July 2014 will nothappen.That saves consumers the previous government s planned increase inthe price o everything that had to be trucked around the country.Madam Speaker, unfortunately, the new government cannot undo thepast, we can only make the future better - and that is what we will do.

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Because there will be no Carbon Tax, the Jobs and CompetitivenessProgram, Energy Security Fund and the Steel Transformation Planwill all be terminated from 1 July 2014.These assistance measures will only remain to assist with final2013-14 Carbon Tax liabilities.The buy-back facility for free carbon units issued under the Jobs andCompetitiveness Program and the Energy Security Fund will continueto operate for 2013-14 compliance.There will also be a final reconciliation for free carbon units issuedunder the Jobs and Competitiveness Program to ensure that there is nounder or over-allocation o assistance for 2013-14.

The Government will ensure the benefits o repealing the Carbon Taxare passed on to consumers.The ACCC will have further powers to take action against anybusiness that engages in price exploitation in relation to Carbon Taxrepeal.Businesses are already subject to the existing law to prevent false,misleading or deceptive conduct.Penalties o up to 1.1 million for corporations and 220,000 forindividuals will apply.

The ACCC will also monitor prices in key sectors in the lead up to,and following, the repealing o the Carbon Tax.Page 9 o l l

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The Government is repealing the Carbon Tax because there is a lesscomplicated and less costly way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions -that will actually reduce emissions and won t damage the economy.The Government will scrap the Carbon Tax and then proceed with itsDirect Action Plan.The centrepiece of the Direct Action Plan will be the EmissionsReduction Fund- a market-based mechanism for reducing carbondioxide emissions.The Fund provides a powerful and direct additional incentive forbusinesses to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.The Fund will use positive incentives to reduce Australia'sgreenhouse gas emissions.Direct action means more trees, better soils and smarter technology -this is the right way to get emissions down

Madam Speaker,The Carbon Tax is a 9 billion hit on the economy this year alone.t is a 9 billion burden on jobs, on investment and on Australia that

we just don t need.This bill gets rid of it

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This bill is the government s bill to reduce the people s bills.This bill is good for the economy, it is good for jobs, it is good forfamilies wanting to get ahead.I commend this bill to the House.

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