Hunt Second Reading

8/12/2019 Hunt Second Reading

1/10

SECOND READING SPEECH

CLEAN ENERGY LEGISLATIONCARBON TAX REPEAL) BILL 2014

OZONE PROTECTION AND SYNTHETIC GREENHOUSEGAS IMPORT LEVY) AMENDMENT

CARBON TAX REPEAL) BILL 2014

OZONE PROTECTION AND SYNTHETIC GREENHOUSEGAS MANUFACTURE LEVY) AMENDMENT

CARBON TAX REPEAL) BILL 2014

TRUE UP SHORTFALL LEVY GENERAL)CARBON TAX REPEAL) BILL 2014

TRUE UP SHORTFALL LEVY EXCISE)CARBON TAX REPEAL) BILL 2014

CUSTOMS TARIFF AMENDMENTCARBON TAX REPEAL) BILL 2014

EXCISE TARIFF AMENDMENTCARBON TAX REPEAL) BILL 2014

OZONE PROTECTION AND SYNTHETIC GREENHOUSEGAS IMPORT LEVY)

TRANSITIONAL PROVISIONS) BILL 2014


2/10

Today the Government introduces the

the Clean Energy Legislation (Carbon Tax Repeal) Bill 2014;

the Ozone Protection nd Synthetic Greenhouse Gas (Import

Levy) Amendment (Carbon Tax Repeal) Bill2014;

the Ozone Protection nd Synthetic Greenhouse Gas

(Manufacture Levy) Amendment (Carbon Tax Repeal) Bill 2014;

the True p Shortfall Levy (General) (Carbon Tax Repeal) Bill

2014;

the True p Shortfall Levy (Excise) (Carbon Tax Repeal) Bill

2014;

the Customs Tariff Amendment (Carbon Tax Repeal) Bill2014;

the Excise Tariff Amendment (Carbon Tax Repeal) Bill 2014;

and

the Ozone Protection nd Synthetic Greenhouse Gas (Import

Levy) (Transitional Provisions) Bill2014.

The Australian people have already debated the carbon tax and they

decided ten months ago on 7 September 2 13 that they did not want:

higher electricity prices;

higher gas prices;

2


3/10

higher travel costs; or

higher food costs.

The Australian people said they did not want the carbon tax.

The carbon tax increased the costs o everything it touched.

t punishes households, business, schools, hospitals, nursing homes,

charities, churches, council swimming pools and community centres.

t hits each and every group and individual who use energy - and that

was always its goal: to make electricity and gas more expensive.

And that s why the Australian people voted to get rid o it

The bills honour the Coalition s commitment to the Australian people

to scrap this toxic tax.

t is now up to this Parliament to show that it has listened to the

Australian people.

The bills today ensure that all elements o the carbon tax areabolished.

The main bill removes the carbon tax, and implements new powers

for the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission to ensure

that cost savings are passed on.


4/10

The other bills remove the imposition o the carbon tax on liquid fuels

and synthetic greenhouse gases.

The bills also provide for the transitional arrangements to ensure asmooth transition out o the carbon tax in all its forms, and give the

Clean Energy Regulator, the Australian Taxation Office, the

Australian Customs and Border Protection Service and the

Department o the Environment the powers they need to do this.

A cornerstone o the Government's plan for a stronger economy built

on lower taxes, less regulation and stronger businesses s the repeal o

the carbon tax.

The first impact o the repeal o the carbon tax will be on households

whose overall costs will fall around 550 a year on average.

Electricity bills will be around 200 lower this financial year without

the carbon tax.

Gas bills will be around 70 lower this financial year without the

carbon tax.

These are real savings that will help family budgets.


5/10

Only last week, we heard from a number o new Senators on the

impact o the carbon tax on pensioners, on the cost o heating homes,

on farmers incomes and small business costs.

The people who voted for those Senators expect them to act.

t is disappointing that families and small businesses are still paying

11 million a day in higher electricity prices due to the carbon tax.

Once the carbon tax is repealed, there will be savings to the family

budgets with lower electricity and gas prices.

And these savings are confirmed.

In Queensland, the Queensland Competition Authority has said that

typical household electricity bills are expected to fall by 8.5 per cent.

In NSW, the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal has said

that gas prices will be up to 9.2 per cent lower without the carbon tax.

In Tasmania, the Office o the Tasmanian Economic Regulator has

said that electricity prices will be 7.8 per cent lower with the removal

o the carbon tax.

In the ACT, the Independent Competition and Regulatory

Commission has said that electricity prices will fall by 11.6 per cent

without the carbon tax


6/10

Prices for groceries, for household items and for services will also fall

because the price o power is embedded in every price in our

economy.

The carbon tax will go, but the carbon tax compensation will stay so

that every Australian should be better off.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has a wide-

ranging arsenal o compliance powers to ensure businesses do not

mislead their customers about the impacts o the carbon tax repeal.

t has received 10 million in additional funding to take necessary

enforcement action, and also to inform businesses about their

obligations and customers about their rights.

Under the original version o the repeal bills penalties o up to 1.1

million for corporations and 220,000 for individuals will apply.

These are retained.

The ACCC has already issued over 560 requests for information from

companies across the economy including from electricity and gas,refrigerants and aviation.


7/10

As agreed with the Palmer United Party, I foreshadow and I will

move amendments to supplement the Commission s ability to ensure

that consumers benefit from the repeal of the carbon tax. The changes

included in the bills:

Ensure suppliers of regulated goods electricity, natural gas and

synthetic greenhouse gases must pass on all cost savings.

Impose a penalty on electricity and natural gas suppliers equal to

250 per cent of any cost savings they do not pass on.

Require electricity and natural gas retailers and bulk importers

of synthetic greenhouse gases to inform the ACCC and

customers about how they are passing on cost savings amount of

the savings.

The changes to the main repeal bill balance new compliance

obligations with the need to ensure that household and business

customers benefit.

Businesses should be able to explain to customers how changes in

their costs are flowing through to changes in their prices.

For the purpose of the Acts Interpretation ct 19 1 I confirm that the

definition of electricity retailer is limited to electricity retailers and

electricity producers selling electricity into a wholesale electricity

markets or to a retailer.


8/10


9/10

Repealing the Carbon Tax will reduce the cost of living, make jo s

more secure and improve the competitive position of our country.

The Australian people have already voted on this carbon tax repeal

bill.

They are now waiting for the Members and Senators to honour their

commitments to abolish the tax and get the budget back into surplus.

As the Prime Minister has said previously to the House these bills are

the Government s bill to reduce the Australian people s bills and so

the Government commends these bills to Parliament.


10/10

Documents

Hunt Second Reading