PM: Thank you. I'm here in Brisbane today, in the great state of Queensland. Queensland's got a lot to lose from climate change. This is a state with fantastic natural assets like the Great Barrier Reef. This is a state with a long coastline. And this is a state that in the past has seen the impact of extreme weather events.
What we know is that climate change is real. The scientists are telling us it's real and climate change will mean in the future, if we allow it to just spiral out of control, that we face more days of extreme heat, more bushfires and droughts, more extreme weather events, coastal flooding, things that threaten the Great Barrier Reef with rising water temperatures.
So, Queensland, a great state, has a lot to lose from climate change. But Queensland is also a state that's got a lot to gain from a clean energy future and it's that clean energy future that I want to seize by putting a price on carbon pollution. I've travelled in Queensland to places like Hogan Creek, where solar is being used to boost power from a traditional coal-fired power plant. I've been here to announce our investments in a huge solar energy development in Chinchilla.
And I'm here today at LNS, and I thank them for having me here, looking at how at this place they are generating electricity from landfill. Landfill, as it decomposes, creates the kind of carbon pollution we're worried about, it particularly creates methane gas. Here at this facility today, instead of that gas simply going into the atmosphere as pollution, it is being captured and it's being used to generate electricity. You can see the facility behind me.
And that electricity is powering more than 4500 homes. This kind of clean energy future is probably a bit unexpected, people have heard about solar and they've heard about wind, they may have heard about geothermal, but here is another innovative way that we will see a clean energy future using the gas from the landfill to generate electricity.
It's this kind of clean energy future that will be turbo-charged by putting a price on carbon, as we create the circumstances where new clean energy ventures can proper. I've been very pleased to learn about this clean energy venture today and it's why I'm so determined, because I know these things are possible, that we as a nation seize a clean energy future but putting a price on carbon. As I've travelled round and spoken to people and listened to their concerns about putting a price on carbon, I've been explaining to people that it's around 500 of our biggest polluters who will pay the price of putting carbon pollution in our atmosphere.
But I've also been explaining to people there will be some flow-through price impacts onto the things that families buy, impacts of less than one per cent on the cost of living. But we want to make sure that businesses around the country do the right thing. Overwhelmingly businesses do do the right thing, but we don't want anybody trying to use a price on carbon as an excuse for jacking up their prices.
So, today the Treasurer has announced that the ACCC will be a tough cop on the beat, cracking down on anyone who tries to gouge new prices as a result of us putting a price on carbon. We have changed the consumer laws, fines are now up to $1.1 million for trying to rip customers off. Businesses have a million reasons not to do the wrong thing. And we will provide $12.8 million of new resources so the ACCC can go about this work. Now businesses overwhelmingly will do the right thing and the only cost they will pass through is the less than one per cent cost of us putting a price on carbon. But the message is very clear, if any business tries to do the wrong thing and rip Australians off, then there's a tough cop on the beat, fines of up to $1.1 million waiting for anyone who tries to rip consumers off.
I'm very happy to take questions.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, you've made a lot of comparisons between the GST and the carbon tax. Now, on the GST, the government at the time put the ACCC in place to say that they would also do the same things, make sure the GST and people couldn't price gouge there. At the time you said ‘there's no way in the world any government bureaucracy can be in every store at every point', so how is the ACCC be able monitor this in this case, and wasn't able to do it under the GST?
PM: I was sceptical when the GST was introduced, that the ACCC would be able to do the job and that the ACCC would be able to crack down on any one who sought to rip people off as a result of the Goods and Services Tax, but the ACCC did get out there and did do the job and since that time we have increased the penalties that the ACCC can impose on businesses that try and price gouge. Particularly, from the start of this year, we put penalties up to $1.1 million. So, for any business that tries to do the wrong things, there's a huge risk here, of an up to $1.1 million fine. That's a million good reasons to do the right thing every day.
JOURNALIST: (inaudible) renewable, how does the carbon package (inaudible)?
PM: The government is continuing to invest in carbon capture and storage. I believe it will be a big part of the way we deal with energy in the future and with carbon pollution in the future. The government has sponsored the creation of the Global Carbon Capture and Storage Institute and we will continue to invest billions of dollars in working with firms to develop up the technology of capturing carbon pollution and then storing it. In terms of the new announcements that were made on Sunday, with the $10 billion in the Clean Energy Finance Corporation, it is possible for a coal business to make application, for example it might be determining that it will have gas as a co-generation possibility. Those applications can go to the Clean Energy Finance Corporation, separately to that stream of money we will continue with the major investments to drive innovation in carbon capture and storage.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, this morning at Fairfield you saw firsthand the tension and the emotion that this debate is generating. Do scenes like those concern you, that that's what it's generating?
PM: Australians have different views about putting a price on carbon. I've been out every day talking to Australians, I was at a workplace yesterday, obviously I've been on Q & A, on Channel 2, I'll be at a community meeting tonight, I've been in shopping centres. I've been talking to Australians about their concerns about putting a price on carbon and explaining the government's plan. So, I'm not at all surprised that there are Australians in favour, and Australians against. But this is the right thing to do for a clean energy future for our country, the right thing to do to seize the possibilities in our nation to make energy from this wonderful sunshine, to even make energy from gases that come off landfill, to make energy from our tidal power, from our wind power, from geothermal, from all of the clean energy sources of the future. So, I want to see a future for this country with less carbon pollution and more clean energy, that's why I've determined we will put a price on carbon from 1 July next year that the biggest polluters will pay.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, you said on radio this morning selling carbon permits (inaudible). What happened to that scheme under your plan and will (inaudible)?
PM: This company will have two big things happening after 1 July next year. For the gas that comes off new waste after 1 July next year there will be a reason not to put those gases into our atmosphere, that is that they will pay a price per tonne for that carbon pollution. But there will also be an incentive for a business like this one to do the right thing and to use that gas to generate electricity and that is that they will be able to get renewable energy certificates, so that's a credit. If you like there'll be a stick, they'll be avoiding paying the price for putting a tonne of carbon pollution into the atmosphere, but there will also be a carrot, which is the renewable energy certificate.
JOURNALIST: (inaudible)
PM: Well, for a past scheme, we'll obviously for a New South Wales scheme, you'll have to talk to the New South Wales Government about that. So, the way in which we are dealing with these kind of operations will change on 1 July, they will continue to be eligible for renewable energy certificates, so there will be a carrot there, but there will also be a stick - don't put the carbon pollution from waste, after 1 July, into our atmosphere, there will be a price that you'll pay if you do so.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, you're out on the road a lot. You've seen Tony Abbott this morning with his whole family out in Melbourne. Are we just at the start of a two year election campaign?
PM: I've got a lot of governing to do and a lot of things I want to achieve for this country. We have a strong economy and I want to keep investing to make sure our economy is strong and I want to use the strength of that economy to build new opportunities for Australians. My vision is that Australians around the country share in the new opportunities we can create from the resources boom. So, I'll be continuing to deliver changes and reforms in education - in schools, more apprenticeships, more university places, in health care - more doctors, more nurses, more local control of hospitals, more money into health, the National Broadband Network - rolled out around the country. But at the same time I will be doing what I'm doing today - out talking to Australians about the government's plans to put a price on carbon pollution and the opportunities for a clean energy future that gives us.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister two thirds of Australians are against the carbon tax (inaudible) there are a number of polls that always seem to be coming out. I know you get asked this question a lot but how are you going to turn the polls around? And you often say that you'll go out and talk to people and explain the carbon tax but do you have a back up weapon here if that doesn't work?
PM: I obviously see the commentary on the polls and Tony Abbott made it clear last night that for him this is all about the polls and all about the politics. Well for me it's all about the nation's future and having a clean energy future that's why I am determined that from 1 July next year we start realising that clean energy future by putting a price on the carbon pollution that goes into our atmosphere today for absolutely nothing.
JOURNALIST: So you expect to see the same polls at the level they are until July next year?
PM: Well I've made it clear what I'm motivated by is getting a clean energy future for our country. As Prime Minister of this nation I've got to make some tough decisions and engage in hard reforms, that's what you do the job for, to create a better future for our country, for the kids of today who will be the adults of tomorrow. That better future is a clean energy future and I'm determined to lead the nation and seize that clean energy future.
JOURNALIST: (inaudible) on the Malaysian asylum seeker deal?
PM: Look it's been clear for some time now that we've been involved in advanced negotiations with Malaysia on the transfer agreement and obviously when we're in a position to make further announcements about it, we will. We're in advanced negotiations.
JOURNALIST: You said on radio this morning that the makeup of Parliament (inaudible) the influence of the Greens and Independents, is the reason that we have the carbon tax-
PM: Sorry, who said that?
JOURNALIST: Apparently you said this on ABC radio this morning that the reason that we have it instead of the emissions trading scheme- the reason that you said at the last election there would be no carbon tax and then have gone back on that is because the makeup of Parliament and (inaudible) the Greens and Independents-
PM: Well perhaps I'll put that in my own words the way I did on ABC radio this morning and what I said on ABC radio this morning is I've always wanted us to have a clean energy future where we put a price per tonne on carbon pollution, where we didn't just have carbon pollution endlessly going into our skies for absolutely nothing. I want to see this country have what's called an emissions trading scheme, where you put a price per tonne on carbon pollution and you cap the total amount of pollution your economy can create. We are going to get there by having a three year carbon tax, a temporary carbon tax and then get to a permanent emissions trading scheme. It's right that at the time of the last election, to get to that emissions trading scheme I didn't necessarily foresee that we would get there via a three year fixed price on carbon. But we will get to that emissions trading scheme. But we can talk about that, but I think we've also got to think about the outcome. As Prime Minister of this country, after the last election, I faced a choice. It was a really clear choice. I could act to put a price on carbon pollution and get us a clean energy future or I could have held to what I said in the last election campaign. I did think through that choice and I decided the right choice was for us to get a clean energy future. So faced with a choice between getting nothing done in this Parliament and actually getting a clean energy future by putting a price on carbon, I've determined that the right thing for the nation is to put a price on carbon pollution and get this done, following what is a ten year debate in our country.
JOURNALIST: So the makeup of this Parliament has affected the way you've gone about this?
PM: I've been clear about this in the past and let me be clear about it again. To put a price on carbon requires a law to go through the Federal Parliament. In the last Federal Parliament the carbon pollution reduction scheme ran into a brick wall. We'll I've smashed that brick wall down. We are putting a price on carbon and getting an emissions trading scheme.
JOURNALIST: (inaudible)
PM: On Sunday we announced as part of the package to get us a clean energy future that we would be working with electricity generators to make sure that we had security of electricity supply. I certainly want to see us as a nation move away from the dirtiest forms of generating electricity to the clean forms of generating electricity and we're talking about some of that today, remarkably, generating electricity of the gas that comes off landfill - an amazing thing. So as part of what I announced on Sunday we did talk about measures to ensure that change in electricity by putting a price on carbon whilst we have security. That means that there is money available to work with current electricity generators, we will also be going out to tender so that we can retire out of the system some of the dirtiest energy generation capacity. I've seen figures floated in the newspapers and I'm not going to confirm any figures because this is a tender process and for me to confirm any figure would distort the tender process. On the question of state owned electricity generation, given our purpose here is to ensure continuity of supply, of course state governments are going to keep state generation happening so that there is continuity of supply. On asset prices for state owned generators, well a great state like Queensland generates electricity from gas, it generates electricity from cleaner sources, the values of those assets has just gone up as a result of us putting a price on carbon.
JOURNALIST: (inaudible)
PM: Well the aim here is that you can with great confidence put your lights on because there is energy security and energy supply. Your state owned electricity generation assets will continue to play their part in that electricity security and supply. As for asset values, your pointing to some asset values, let me point to others. Here in Queensland, some electricity generation assets owned by the state government are more valuable today as a result of us determining to put a price on carbon.
JOURNALIST: (inaudible)
PM: Well it's about electricity generation and energy security, what I want you to have, I want you to have confidence that there's energy security and of course we will achieve that through the package we announced on Sunday. And as for state owned assets and their values, well there are some that have gone up in value.
JOURNALIST: (inaudible)
PM: I'm going to be happy to be out and about talking to communities right around the country.
JOURNALIST: (inaudible)
PM: That's because jobs are going like that. There'll be half a million in the next two years. Jobs are going up. There will be 1.6 million by 2020. Anybody who's trying to tell you that the job numbers in this country are somehow going down isn't telling you the truth.
JOURNALIST: Do you agree that Queensland will be one of the worst hit states by the carbon tax?
PM: How on earth would you have reasoned that? Give me one factor that would lead you to conclude that?
JOURNALIST: Mining.
PM: The mining industry has got a great future here in Queensland, absolutely great future. Let's talk about your mining industry here in Queensland and your resources. I've seen coming on stream huge projects, huge gas projects, they will be built and provide jobs in Queensland. You've got a fantastic coal industry which will continue to grow and have more jobs in it in the future. Let's talk about the announcements from just a couple of days ago. People woke up to newspapers yesterday that told them a huge coal mining company, Peabody, wanted to buy another, well it's an American company - it wanted to buy an Australian coal mining company, the biggest ever takeover of a coal mining company in this country. You know why they want to do that? Because they're absolutely confident that there's money to be made in mining coal they're absolutely right. The coal industry's got a great future here in Queensland. And standing here, you know I could have been in Canberra today, but instead I'm standing here bathed in Queensland sunshine. Think about the possibilities for this state, it's not called the sunshine state for nothing. This is energy coming out of our sky, a clean energy source for the future and you've got it here in Queensland.
JOURNALIST: So Bob Brown's wrong when he says the end game of the carbon tax is shutting down the coal industry?
PM: I've just been as clear as I possibly can be on the future of the coal industry. The coal industry will continue to grow, it will continue to employ people. It will employ more people and we say this week after the Government announced putting a price on carbon, we saw this week that a huge coal mining company from America wanted to come and buy a big Australian coal mining company because they know how bright the future is.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister is the perceived-
PM: We'll make this the last question.
JOURNALIST: Is the perceived power of the Greens or otherwise damaging this sell for you or making it more difficult for you and is there any indication from Bob Brown that the Greens will support the $300 million extra assistance for steel?
PM: I've put forward what I believe is the right package for the nation's future, to get a clean energy future. That's the package I announced on Sunday. You're right; it contains $3 million to support steel workers' jobs. I sat with steel workers in their cafeteria yesterday and talked to them about how I want our country to continue to make steel and I'm prepared to make $3 million available to support their jobs. Tony Abbott sat in that cafeteria and said to them they were all going to lose their jobs. Well, Tony Abbott is the one who wants to vote against the $300 million package to support steel worker jobs, I think he's got to answer for that. And on the announcement I've made today about the ACCC and making sure there's a cop on the beat, Tony Abbott to has been basically saying people can blame any increase in prices on the carbon tax. Well, I'm saying to Australian businesses, don't use the carbon tax to gouge prices from consumers. If you try, you'll face the penalty. Tony Abbott is encouraging businesses to do just that, try some price gouging. Well they can't do it because the ACCC will be out there with fines and penalties of up to $1.1 million dollars and Tony Abbott should not be encouraging businesses to try it on. Mr Abbott simply should be encouraging businesses to try on gouging consumers. Thank you very much.