Senator IAN MACDONALD (Queensland) (18:37): I wish to speak on the Commonwealth Grants Commission report 2010-11. In that you will see the grants that the Commonwealth, through the Grants Commission, makes to Queensland and other states and to various local governments around the country. In speaking to this particular document, I raise the question: what is going to happen when the carbon tax comes in and costs the Queensland government? I speak of Queensland because I am a Queensland senator, but the same would apply to everywhere else. When the carbon tax comes in on 1 July next year, what will happen with the cost of electricity, for example—just taking a small point—for every state government building? If you look around Brisbane at night-time you will see how many state government buildings there are and how many of them have lights on and electricity churning through. We all know, on the government's own figures, that electricity is going to go up 10 per cent. If you work on state government modelling from New South Wales and Victoria, it could be anywhere between 15 per cent and 20 per cent. I would suggest that their modelling is probably more accurate. All of this extra cost of electricity is going to have to be paid by the Queensland government. As well, every local authority in Queensland will be paying more for their water pumps and for the general electricity they currently use—and they use a lot of electricity. I wonder what the Commonwealth Grants Commission is going to do for the Queensland state government and local governments to make up for this huge additional tax that they will have to pay. I have heard about compensation—not that I believe much of it. Why would you believe anything this Prime Minister said after she promised us there would not be a carbon tax under a government she led? Today she is celebrating and wildly throwing kisses around to acknowledge the absolute breach of that solid promise. So why would you believe anything she says? But she has said— Senator Marshall interjecting— Senator IAN MACDONALD: No, I would not like to kiss Mr Rudd or, I might say, Ms Gillard, Senator Marshall. Take my word for that. The ACTING DEPUTY PRESIDENT ( Senator Moore ): Senator, again I remind you about discussions across the table. Senator IAN MACDONALD: I was diverted by an unlawful interjection. There has been talk of compensation. But I have not heard of any talk of compensation for states. Nor have I heard about compensation for local governments. So I just wonder how the Commonwealth Grants Commission is going to make equitable distributions to these utilities for the additional costs they will have to pay. I mentioned only electricity, but councils are big users of fuel. Is the Brisbane City Council going to get additional funding for all of the buses they run? Was there something said about that? Perhaps there was. Is there additional funding for all of the transport costs that will increase with all the graders, bulldozers and rollers that are used by councils and the Queensland government? I have not heard anything about this compensation. So I wonder what my state of Queensland is going to do when the carbon tax comes in and it has to spend more money on paying tax to the Commonwealth without, as far as I can recall, any word said by the Commonwealth Gillard government about any compensation for state governments and local governments for the additional funds that they will be called upon to spend. This is something that the Grants Commission will have to seriously look at, because they try to equalise in a vertical way—or is it a horizontal way?—the costs on each state, but some states will use more electricity. For example, will our state, because it has big air-conditioning bills—local governments up our way have big air-conditioning bills; it is a big cost—get more out of the Commonwealth Grants Commission's allocation? I do not know, but it is going to mean that this same report, the Commonwealth Grants Commission report, for 2013-14 will be a fascinating document to see how the Grants Commission addresses that issue.