Senator BIRMINGHAM (South Australia) (14:27): My question is to Minister Wong, the Minister representing the Minister for Climate Change and Energy Efficiency. I refer the minister to the comments of BHP Billiton CEO Marius Kloppers in his speech to the Perth business breakfast just 11 weeks ago, on 6 June this year, in which he was reported as saying: … increased operating costs, the carbon tax and other imposts had 'conspired' to turn Australia from a low-cost environment— and, therefore, competitive— into a higher-cost environment. I ask the minister: has the application of the carbon tax created a higher cost environment, as Mr Kloppers says, for a company like BHP Billiton?