Senator SINGH (Tasmania) (17:10): It was no surprise to me at all to hear my Tasmanian colleague Liberal Senator Bushby talking down the economy, and in doing so he is talking down the economy not just of this nation but also of his home state of Tasmania. That is something we cannot afford to hear in Tasmania. That kind of glass-half-empty attitude of setting their own political interests by talking down our economy does us absolutely no good in Tasmania, and certainly does Senator Bushby no good in trying to be a champion for the growing economy that we need in Tasmania. What we do know about the carbon price is that our economy seeks to benefit and grow. We have developed an emissions trading scheme that, by putting a price on carbon, a price on pollution, is providing an opportunity for renewable energy technologies to grow in this country. That is a very good thing. It is a two-edged benefit not only for the business and economic development aspects but also for the environmental aspects of reducing pollution in our nation and, therefore, reducing global warming and the effects that it is having on our planet. One thing we know about global warming is that it is global. It is not something that is confined just to the borders of any one country. It is something that is affecting our planet, it is something that is affecting our oceans, and it is something that we all need to play a part in, and that means not just Australia but all the countries in the world. Slowly, one by one—and we certainly were not the first—a number of countries are getting on and doing that. In the last week or so, a global emissions trading scheme is exactly what we have been able to share in and be a part of. That scheme, as we know it, will mean that Australia will be able to trade with the EU. When we say the 'EU', we are talking about some 35 countries that make up the European Union. So already we are getting on and, by 2015-16, which is the compliance year, will provide companies with access to a mature and established carbon market. Who would have thought that the Liberal Party would come out against one of their own most fundamental philosophical beliefs, that of the market-driven economy? Who would have thought that? That is what we have just heard today from Senator Bushby in talking down the carbon pricing system. I am proud to be part of the Gillard Labor government, which has delivered such a system in line with our longstanding commitment to emissions trading and to dealing with the effects of climate change. Such effects go well beyond our own generation and ensure that, in reducing pollution in our atmosphere, we are leaving this planet in a much better place and condition for future generations than it has been—for posterity, for my children, for my grandchildren and for Senator Bushby's as well. The coalition's claim that the carbon price is unravelling comes only two months after a very successful operation of the carbon price. To come here and say that it is unravelling when in fact it is actually operating really well and the sky has not fallen in, business is continuing to invest and Australia is continuing to have one of the best economies in the world just does not make sense. It shows again this kind of meddling with the truth, meddling with the facts, that the Liberal Party continue to espouse in this place. Facts are just a mild inconvenience for the opposition. They prefer, of course, the quick slogans rather than any kind of informed discussion and debate. It is not just scientific papers that the opposition will not read; it is even statements by companies, as we have been able to witness recently in relation to when BHP released their decision not to proceed with Olympic Dam. Mr Abbott did not even read that decision, yet had the audacity to go on the ABC's 7.30 program to comment on it. It did not suit his slogan of the day. There were facts but he didn't even bother to read the statement. Why read the statement to the stock market when you have already got your message sorted. It is all about ignoring the truth. Rather than getting to grips with the things that are genuinely affecting the jobs, lives and livelihoods of Australian families and workers, he would prefer to take the easy and lazy way out. Unfortunately, Liberal senators in this place are doing exactly the same thing and falling in line behind their leader, Mr Abbott, and his poor, pathetic slogans. What do we know about the carbon price beyond just the environmental and economic benefits that it is going to provide? We also know that this carbon package is going to provide a whole suite of benefits for Australian families, and those benefits are something that will be under threat if, dare I say it, a Liberal government take hold of this country. Things that the opposition would potentially roll back if they were in power would be things like tax cuts. We have tripled the tax-free threshold to $18,000 a year. Senator Bushby interjecting— Senator SINGH: That is incredibly important for low-income Australians, of which there are many in our home state of Tasmania, as Senator Bushby would be very, very aware. It would include increases to pensions, benefits and other allowances to help households to offset a very modest increase to the cost of living as a result of the carbon price. We know that that modest increase—in fact, some $9.90 a week for households will be compensated by $10.10 per week. But, no, these facts, the truth of the matter, are things that the Liberal Party simply do not want to hear. They want to continue to go out there and pretend that every day is doomsday: we must roll back the clock and go back to the 1950s, turn off the fridge and hide in the dark because we certainly do not want to have a progressive economic reform agenda for this country! They do not want to accept the fact that our economy is doing well; they want to say that every day is doomsday. Do they really think the Australian people are that stupid? Do they really think that with all these slogans and rhetoric the Australian people are going to say: 'Yeah, the opposition are right. Things are really bad. The tax-free threshold was just increased to $18,000. That is a really bad policy.' We are doing our bit to reduce global warming for our planet and for our children and grandchildren. 'Oh, that's a really bad thing for our economy.' Do they really think that the Australian people are that stupid? The Australian people have been compensated for the mild increase in the cost of living that comes out of carbon pricing. That is something they understand. They know that we need to play our part, just as we are now through the setting up of trading with the EU and all the other countries. Let us not forget all the other countries that have also got on with ensuring that they are developing an emissions trading scheme—countries like Indonesia, Japan, China, Korea and Vietnam. These are countries that have or are developing right now an emissions trading scheme, countries with whom we will also soon be trading with through our own scheme. Do the opposition just not get it? There are so many countries engaged ensuring that we are doing something on climate change. It is all out there. Australia should play and is playing its part. I am proud to say that the Gillard Labor government took that important step—a step that also comes with economic reform for our nation. Last month the opposition leader again played with the truth and said that there were no developing carbon markets in the Asia-Pacific. I have just named at least five. It is really not that hard to see through these misleading claims, this stretching of the truth—that thousands of jobs will be lost, that millions of dollars in investment will just go up in smoke, that price increases will be unimaginable. All of this rhetoric is rubbish. The sky certainly has not fallen in. (Time expired) The ACTING DEPUTY PRESIDENT ( Senator McKenzie ): Order! The time for discussion has concluded.