Ms FINOCCHIARO - 2013-10-17
Could you please tell the assembly about the positive news coming out of Canberra about scrapping Labor’s carbon tax and what impact this might have on the cost of living in the Northern Territory?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Drysdale for her question. What a great question, the carbon tax question. This is something Labor does not want to hear anything about. I know the member for Drysdale is very excited about seeing this new legislation being put forward as a first piece of legislation by Tony Abbott. This is because the legislation is about repealing Labor’s dirty carbon tax - the carbon tax that is set to drive up the CPI by 0.7% in the Northern Territory alone, and increase the cost of living in the Northern Territory.
We are already feeling it at the moment. We are feeling it in the electorate of Drysdale, we are feeling it in Fong Lim, we are feeling it in Fannie Bay and in Nhulunbuy. I can tell you where we are feeling it; we are feeling it in Arafura. The member for Arafura brought a debate into this House just a couple of weeks ago and spoke about the negative effects of the carbon tax in Maningrida, Oenpelli, Jabiru and the Tiwi Islands. We just had the new Tiwi ferry service launched and what is one of the increasing contributing factors of the price of the ferry, the fuel? The carbon tax.
If you take the carbon tax away, you start to make businesses more successful; you start reducing the cost of living in the Northern Territory.
The only thing that stands in the way of repealing the carbon tax in Canberra is Labor. There is an opportunity here in the Territory. Most Territorians want to get rid of the carbon tax; Labor does not. What the Leader of the Opposition, Delia Lawrie, should be doing is lobbying her federal counterpart, Bill Shorten, the federal Opposition Leader, and saying, ‘Support the Territory, get rid of the carbon tax’. It will drive down our cost of living. Anyone in the Northern Territory, in this Chamber, who receives goods and services by transport – by plane, by ship – has a higher cost of living because of the carbon tax.
Goods and services and building materials for building a house are higher because of the carbon tax. It is no wonder that Labor and the Leader of the Opposition will not support getting rid of the carbon tax. I was interested to see this graph from the Infrastructure minister talking about building pyramids. There was one thing he did not mention though. This part is when Syd Stirling was starting to retire debt as the Treasurer. Something happened on 30 November 2007 – right here for anyone who cannot see. This is when the Leader of the Opposition became Treasurer of the Northern Territory. Is she a pyramid builder or what? She can lay the foundations to build pyramids of debt - 0.7% of CPI can come down if you support getting rid of the carbon tax.
No more pyramids, Leader of the Opposition …
Madam SPEAKER: Chief Minister, your time has expired.
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Drysdale for her question. What a great question, the carbon tax question. This is something Labor does not want to hear anything about. I know the member for Drysdale is very excited about seeing this new legislation being put forward as a first piece of legislation by Tony Abbott. This is because the legislation is about repealing Labor’s dirty carbon tax - the carbon tax that is set to drive up the CPI by 0.7% in the Northern Territory alone, and increase the cost of living in the Northern Territory.
We are already feeling it at the moment. We are feeling it in the electorate of Drysdale, we are feeling it in Fong Lim, we are feeling it in Fannie Bay and in Nhulunbuy. I can tell you where we are feeling it; we are feeling it in Arafura. The member for Arafura brought a debate into this House just a couple of weeks ago and spoke about the negative effects of the carbon tax in Maningrida, Oenpelli, Jabiru and the Tiwi Islands. We just had the new Tiwi ferry service launched and what is one of the increasing contributing factors of the price of the ferry, the fuel? The carbon tax.
If you take the carbon tax away, you start to make businesses more successful; you start reducing the cost of living in the Northern Territory.
The only thing that stands in the way of repealing the carbon tax in Canberra is Labor. There is an opportunity here in the Territory. Most Territorians want to get rid of the carbon tax; Labor does not. What the Leader of the Opposition, Delia Lawrie, should be doing is lobbying her federal counterpart, Bill Shorten, the federal Opposition Leader, and saying, ‘Support the Territory, get rid of the carbon tax’. It will drive down our cost of living. Anyone in the Northern Territory, in this Chamber, who receives goods and services by transport – by plane, by ship – has a higher cost of living because of the carbon tax.
Goods and services and building materials for building a house are higher because of the carbon tax. It is no wonder that Labor and the Leader of the Opposition will not support getting rid of the carbon tax. I was interested to see this graph from the Infrastructure minister talking about building pyramids. There was one thing he did not mention though. This part is when Syd Stirling was starting to retire debt as the Treasurer. Something happened on 30 November 2007 – right here for anyone who cannot see. This is when the Leader of the Opposition became Treasurer of the Northern Territory. Is she a pyramid builder or what? She can lay the foundations to build pyramids of debt - 0.7% of CPI can come down if you support getting rid of the carbon tax.
No more pyramids, Leader of the Opposition …
Madam SPEAKER: Chief Minister, your time has expired.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016