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House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, First Session (52-1)
2011-07-28 Daily Xml
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CARBON TAX

Mr GRIFFITHS (Goyder) (14:44): My question is to the Minister for Transport. How much will Labor's carbon tax cost the state's transport budget each year, and how much federal compensation will be given to offset the increased costs?

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! Members on my right will be quiet also.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! Minister for minerals, behave. Minister for Transport.

The Hon. P.F. CONLON (Elder—Minister for Transport, Minister for Infrastructure) (14:45): The cost, of course, of carbon is something that we have looked at in terms of transport. It is undoubted that paying for carbon will cost us more, and so it should.

Members interjecting:

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: Firstly, I just want to make sure that the Liberals stand by their view that the Victorian government is being compensated for its cost of carbon because it would be embarrassing if they did not have that correct, wouldn't it? So, I hope she is prepared to stake her leadership on it. The truth is that, in South Australia, Mike Rann has done an outstanding job securing compensation for some industries in South Australia which produce a lot of carbon. Can I say—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: Apparently, their internal polling isn't going that well.

An honourable member: We've heard about it.

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: We've heard about it.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: The truth is that as a consequence of the work done by Mike Rann with people like Combet—

Mr VAN HOLST PELLEKAAN: Point of order, Madam Speaker: 123. That is twice the minister has referred to the Premier by his name, rather than by Premier.

The SPEAKER: Thank you, member for Stuart. Yes. I will uphold that point of order. The minister knows that.

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: For the benefit of the Pelican Brief, the Hon. the Premier Mike Rann.

Mr WILLIAMS: Point of order, Madam Speaker. It is unparliamentary for a minister to use that sort of language in reference to a member of the house, and he knows that.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! I am sorry. I did not hear the comment that the minister did make, but I will take your word for it.

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: I apologise because the member for Stuart is a member for whom I have respect, unlike the Deputy Leader of the Opposition.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: You got there with three votes. Why don't you just sit back and say thank you? Just sit back and say thank you.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

Mrs REDMOND: Point of order, Madam Speaker: the matter of relevance. It was a question about the carbon tax on the transport department.

The SPEAKER: Yes, I uphold that point of order. The minister will get back to the substance of the question.

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: Madam Speaker, I apologise for responding to disorderly interjections, because that is all I was doing. I will come back to the substance of the question. The Premier has done an outstanding job for South Australian industry, negotiating with his federal colleagues—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: —for compensation for South Australian industries. As a result, we see people like OneSteel in Whyalla who are very happy with the job that the Premier has done for them. So, if the Premier is accused of helping South Australian industry and South Australian jobs ahead of some carbon cost in the department of transport, we are not going to apologise for it. The important thing is for those dinosaurs on the other side—that is an animal, incidentally, just one that isn't around anymore.

Mrs Redmond: What's it going to cost the state?

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: For those people on the other side, if they have a view that the world can go on without paying for carbon, then we do not agree with them. We do not agree with them. We believe the world should pay for carbon and we believe that South Australia will benefit from a transition to a carbon constrained economy, which is why we have more than half of Australia's wind towers, which is why we have more solar connections—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: —and more grid-connected solar power than anyone else, which is why we are ahead of the game in carbon costs, which is why we are placed for a very bright carbon constrained future. So, while you dinosaurs worry about how much it is going to cost the hospital or a school or something like this, what I would say to you is having a healthy economy—having a good, strong growing economy—is far more important that those marginal costs. So, I say to you, if you want to keep asking this dopey question through all of your shadow ministers—all 30 or 40, or how many of them there are—well, we will keep answering them. But we believe that there are opportunities as well as difficulties in a carbon constrained future, and we believe South Australia has a brighter, cleaner future without you.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! Thank you, minister. I hope we got rid of some excess energy in that one.

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