Senator WONG (South Australia—Minister for Finance and Deregulation) (14:58): It is the case that the carbon price will commence very soon and it is the case that, when it does, I think you will see that some of the more extraordinary and outlandish claims made by the Leader of the Opposition will be shown to be untrue. Some might recall that the Leader of the Opposition suggested that towns would be wiped off the face of the map and that whole industries would be shut down. Senator Colbeck: Mr President, I raise a point of order on relevance. My question was about a response to the Horticulture Australia report, not comments by anybody else. The PRESIDENT: Order! The minister has one minute and 35 seconds remaining in which to answer the question. I draw the minister's attention to the question. Senator WONG: What I can do in relation to agricultural output is refer the senator to the Treasury modelling, which found that agricultural output would continue to grow under a carbon price. Gross outputs would increase by 130 per cent between 2010 and 2050, the agricultural share of the economy and employment would increase from 2.4 per cent in 2020 to 4.1 per cent in 2050 and the food-manufacturing industry is also expected to increase by 137 per cent between 2010 and 2050. Updated Treasury modelling released on 21 September last year confirmed the previous modelling finding, that agricultural productivity and agricultural gross output would continue to rise irrespective of the introduction of a carbon price. In relation to food prices, the Treasury estimates that seafood and fruit and vegetable prices are likely to increase by only 0.4 per cent in 2013. And, of course, as the senator would know, the government has ensured that these price increases are reflected in the assistance package which the government is providing and which includes increases to family tax benefit, pensions, disability support pension and allowances and a tripling of the tax-free threshold.