Doorstop

SUBJECTS: Carbon tax; Electricity price rises; Government education policy bungles; Labor dirt unit E&OE……………………………………………………………………………………… Christopher Pyne: If I could just open with a few remarks about three subjects. The first of those is that South Australians are being hit with an 18 per cent rise in electricity prices from the first of July; a massive cost impost that will run through the entire South Australian economy pushing up cost of living pressures on South Australians yet again. The Federal Government could immediately reduce that burden by not going ahead with the carbon tax. The carbon tax has added to that 18 per cent increase. Without the carbon tax that increase could have been a great deal less and it’s time the Federal Government recognised the pain South Australians are feeling already with the highest taxing state government in Australia and now the highest electricity prices in the world according to the Energy Users Association, set to go up again on 1 July. If a Coalition Government is elected, we will immediately reduce that cost burden by abolishing the carbon tax playing into reducing cost of living pressures for South Australians. Secondly, the Prime Minister has been responsible for yet another bungle in education. When she became the Minister for Education she abolished the highly successful Howard Government literacy and numeracy tuition vouchers scheme for purely ideological reasons because it was a voucher. She spent $540 million, which the Auditor General has found has made not one jot of difference to literacy and numeracy amongst our school age children. It is another example of wasted money and incompetence by Julia Gillard when she was the Minister for Education along with the failed laptops in schools program and the overpriced Building the Education Revolution school halls program. Finally on the Government’s dirt unit the Prime Minister in 2007 said that dirt units should not be funded by the Australian taxpayer. If she is true to her word, she will direct the Labor Party to pay back the cost of the dirt unit that operates directly under her nose in the Prime Minister’s office. She said yesterday it was routine to have a dirt unit, but she needs to come clean today and get the Labor Party to pay back the cost of that taxpayer funded dirt unit and rule out that Labor will run the kind of filthy, dirty campaign that they ran in Queensland against Campbell Newman for the last Queensland State Election. At the moment the Government’s tactics have all the hallmarks of running such a filthy and dirty campaign. The first thing the Prime Minister should do today is rule out that kind of attack, that kind of strategy and pay back the money that she said taxpayers shouldn’t be funding for these kinds of units. Journalist: Just on the carbon tax, Penny Wong said this morning that electricity price rises here in South Australia are about half what they eastern states will pay and more South Australian families will have more money in their pockets in the long run. What do you say to that? Pyne: The government keeps pretending that their cash splash, their giveaways will compensate people for electricity price rises. Now, Australians know that the compensation is a one off, but the carbon tax will go up and up and up. It’s not slated to be $23 forever; it’s designed to be increased all the time. The compensation will end, the prices will keep going up, and Australians know that the electricity price rises of 18% will not be compensated with the cash splash that the government is giving away. South Australians are already feeling the pinch in a very serious way. The State Government id pushing up taxes and charges in the recent budget, the Federal Government is hitting them with the carbon tax. Penny Wong can say all she likes about how well off South Australians are. If things are going as well as the government says, why doesn’t anybody feel that relief in their household budgets? Journalist: With the electricity prices, the regulator says that much of the increase is due to the cost of the solar tariff feed in. Was that idea a mistake? Should the feed in scheme have never been embarked on? Pyne: Well the feed in scheme was a heavily subsidised scheme, pursued because of the predilections of the former premier Mike Rann and continued by Jay Weatherill. It’s very expensive, but the federal government could immediately reduce the cost burden on electricity prices by not going ahead with the carbon tax. The Prime Minister is inflicting the greatest self wound on the Australian economy, by going ahead with the carbon tax, that anybody can remember. There’s absolutely no need for the government to self harm the Australian economy and households in Adelaide with the carbon tax. It won’t reduce emissions, it will export jobs, ti will export industries and it’s pushing up electricity prices. Journalist: Just on another matter, you were talking about dirt units and questions of policy. A court heard today that James Ashby is supplying information to political opponents. Were you one of them? Pyne: No, Absolutely not. None at all Journalist: Is there anything else you’d like to say about your association with James Ashby? Pyne: Look, I’ve answered all those questions before. The court is hearing from Mr Slipper’s lawyers and the commonwealth lawyers today. If the Labor Party has any evidence of me being involved in this federal court action they should bring it out. Journalist: Mr Pyne, what’s the role of James Newbury on your staff? Pyne: James Newbury assists me with the day to day running of the parliamentary tactics and strategy because he is the liaison on all matters to do with the chamber. Journalist: Is he responsible for compiling a dirt file on Labor MPs? Pyne: Absolutely not Journalist: Has he ever been asked to do background checks on Labor MPs? Pyne: Look, there’s more chance of James Newbury dancing the Pasa Doble than there is of him running a dirt unit in my office. Journalist: have you ever asked James Newbury to compile information on Labor MPs? Pyne: No. Journalist: Has Tony Abbott ever asked James Newbury to compile information? Pyne: Not that I am aware of, no. Journalist: would you like him to do a Pasa Doble? Pyne: Look, it would be exciting in the office for James to attempt the Pasa Doble, but he’s a very good staff member, I have great regard for him, and he’s not involved in any of those activities. ENDS