Prime Minister Tony Abbott has laid the groundwork for the repeal of Labor’s carbon tax, saying the Australian people have spoken and it’s parliament’s turn to listen.
Mr Abbott was shouted at by protesters in the public gallery and faced Labor interjections from across the lower house floor when he introduced a package of repeal bills.
“The Australian people have already voted upon this bill and now the parliament gets its chance,” he told parliament on Wednesday.
“It delivers on the coalition’s commitment to the Australian people to scrap this toxic tax.”
Mr Abbott was forced to wait more than a hour to move his signature legislation after Labor used tactics to stall proceedings in parliament over unrelated matters.
He was further delayed when the opposition interrupted his speech to ask for copies of the legislation, before protesters in the public gallery got to their feet and drowned him out.
“Inaction is simply not good enough,” one protester shouted, joining more than a dozen people being escorted out of the chamber by Parliament House security.
Speaker Bronwyn Bishop threatened to clear the public gallery if the protests continued.
Mr Abbott ploughed on, urging parliament to repeal the carbon tax for the sake of lowering electricity prices for Australian households.
Families would be better off, he said, because electricity prices would fall but the household compensation associated with the carbon tax would stay.
“This is our bill to reduce your bills, to reduce the bills of the people of Australia,” he said.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission would ensure the savings to businesses made from removing the tax were passed through to consumers.
The government expects electricity costs to fall by nine per cent and gas prices by seven per cent to deliver the average household with an annual power bill saving of $550.
If passed, the package of laws would not only repeal the carbon tax but abolish the Climate Change Authority - an independent government advisory body.
Environment Minister Greg Hunt said the authority won’t be needed once the carbon tax is gone.
“In an economic environment that demands greater rigour in the spending of public money, the Australian people want a smaller climate bureaucracy,” he said.
Australian Greens leader Christine Milne said the government was tearing down the country’s only means of reducing carbon emissions.
“When are we going to stand up and accept the science and act?” she told the Senate.
The government has the numbers to see the legislation through the lower house, but Labor and the Australian Greens have vowed to block it in the Senate.
Business groups on Wednesday came out in force to support the government’s repeal bills and urge Labor not to delay the passage of the legislation.
Environment groups are concerned Australia won’t have the mechanisms in place to meet its international obligation to cut emissions by between five and 25 per cent by 2020.
Debate on the Clean Energy Legislation (Carbon Tax Repeal) Bill 2013 and the other 10 related bills was adjourned.
