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Greg Hunt's rubbery CPRS figures presented to Parliament

The Opposition's Greg Hunt spoke to the Rudd Government's third reading of the CARBON POLLUTION REDUCTION SCHEME BILL 2010 on Thursday 4 February 2010:

The ABS lists 8.7 million Australian families.

You need to multiply 8.7 million by $1,100.

Multiplying 8.7 million by $1,000 gives $8.7 billion.

You then add another $900 million, let us call it, and

that gives you $9.6 billion. We are still $2 billion short

of making up Mr Rudd's tax. We are assuming that that

component will be met off the bottom line of business,

but if business passes that through it will be more than

$1,100 per family. So remember this: it is the 8.7 million

Australian families who are the ones that have to

make up the $11½ billion. We are giving Mr Rudd the

benefit of the doubt. We are saying that they will only

have to make up $9.6 billion and that business will cop

the other $2 billion and not pass the costs through for

that, but it is likely that it will be higher than $1,100

per family.

If anyone is wondering where Mr. Hunt found his $1,100 figure:

Where do we get the $1100 figure from? It is not
just us. Whether it was the Daily Telegraph in November
on the splash front page '$1100 per family the cost
of Mr Rudd's ETS', whether it was the work of the
Brotherhood of St Lawrence...

Leader of the Opposition Tony Abbott apparently pulled the same number out of the air or from a Google News search (depending on who you believe) after The Daily Telegraph article was published and specifically applied it to middle income families. A fact which Hunt studiously ignores.

If Greg Hunt goes to a newspaper for some of his figures, where did he go to get his $11.5 billion great big tax and is it a per annum number?
We know that this figure is the estimated revenue from the proposed auction of CPRS carbon permits over two years because the Senate Economics Committee told us so in April 2009 and we also know from Frontier Economics that this original estimate is expected to fall under the revised CPRS currently before Parliament, but Hunt appears to be sticking with the original and now out-of-date projections which he insists on calling a tax on families, pensioners and small business.

Of course with this $11.5 billion being spread over two years that would mean that the spurious dollar amount Hunt is implying is an annual figure would have to be cut in half - that's $550 per family each year for the first two years of the emissions trading scheme.

Hunt is also being a trifle elastic when it comes to population numbers and needs to explain why he is distributing this 'tax' across 8.7 million so-called 'families' when he perhaps should be saying 'households'.
The $1,100 reverts to a per household basis in Liberal Senator Simon Birmingham's media release, so Greg Hunt cannot plead ignorance of what his 8.7 million represents.

Perhaps he thinks telling Parliament that it's all about Australian families reads better in Hansard and, after all the suspect $1,100 he is quoting appears to actually apply to middle-income families anyway according to other members of the Liberal Party.

And the $900 million or the Brotherhood of St Laurence and KPMG?
Well Hunt never explains where he drew that $900 million figure from.
While BSL-KPMG documents don't appear to mention the $1,100 per household but placed the additional costs at:

$494 per year additional expenditure for very low income (below $500 week gross income), high energy using households; and $478.40 for low-income (below $1000 per week gross income), high energy using households.

One rather suspects that Messrs. Hunt and Abbott have carefully included in their totals those projected cost of living price rises which are independant of any emissiosn trading scheme.

Rising to one's feet in the House of Representatives and knowingly building a dollar pyramid based on shifting sand is seen by simple folk as lying to Parliament.
Something Greg Hunt should remember before he goes any further.
Tony Abbott will of course totally ignore any parliamentary rules or conventions if it suits his immediate purpose.

ACMA snaphot of the Australian Internetz

Click on images to enlarge

ACMA Communications Report 2008—09 - released 12 January 2010

Key Indicators

Nats Luke Hartsuyker gets sprung or the local butcher gets an unfair hearing?

Sometimes comic relief is all there is in Question Time and the Nationals MP for Cowper shovels in on with a predictable response from the other side.
The question voters are left with - is the butcher an honest catalyst in this exchange?
I sorta think his use of the term "great big new tax" hints at a a more thhan passing acquaintance with the Coffs Harbour Nats.

Mr HARTSUYKER (2.40 pm)—My question is to the Minister for Small Business, Independent Contractors and the Service Economy. I ask this question on behalf of Mr Russell Greenwood of Russell's Prime Quality Meats of Coffs Harbour, who said today:

My electricity bill has jumped from $5,600 per quarter to $7,400 per quarter in less than 12 months. A further electricity price increase as a result of Kevin Rudd's great big new tax will cause me to shed staff and drive up the cost of meat.

Further increases in the cost of electricity will cause extreme financial difficulty for my business.

Given that Mr Greenwood will receive no compensation for his business costs under the government's emission trading scheme, how does the minister expect him to keep his business afloat in these times of rising costs?

Mr Albanese interjecting—

The SPEAKER—Order! Before giving the call to the Leader of the House, he will withdraw his remarks.

Mr Albanese—I withdraw. Mr Speaker, on a point of order: I would ask that the member table the letter from which he was quoting.

Mr Hockey interjecting—

The SPEAKER—There is no provision for that. As I have said before, the past practice of people who have occupied the chair has been to take it on trust that a member, in quoting from a document or a case where they have actually identified a person, will substantiate that by their own word.

Dr EMERSON—Some mothers do 'ave 'em! For the member for Cowper to suggest that electricity prices have gone up in the last 12 months as a consequence of the CPRS is patently absurd. I am not suggesting—

Mr Pyne interjecting—

The SPEAKER—Order! The member for Sturt will withdraw his remarks and he should dampen his enthusiasm.

Mr Pyne—I withdraw, Mr Speaker.

Mr Hartsuyker—On a point of order, Mr Speaker: I think it would assist the House if I were to repeat the question, because the minister clearly was not listening.

The SPEAKER—No. The member for Cowper has asked his question.

Mr Hartsuyker—I think it would help. Just the last paragraph?

The SPEAKER—The member for Cowper has asked his question.

Dr EMERSON—I am not suggesting that the small business man in question has claimed that electricity prices have gone up over the last year as a consequence of the CPRS, but that is what the member for Cowper said. As we know, the author of the question is the Manager of Opposition Business, because he repeated the question. We are quite happy for you to ask the question again.

Mr Hartsuyker—Mr Speaker, it is essential that I read the question again, because he is misrepresenting the question.

The SPEAKER—I do not think it is essential.

Opposition members interjecting—

The SPEAKER—Order! The member for Cowper will resume his seat. If the member for Cowper feels aggrieved by comments that the minister has made in this response, there are other forums of the House which he can use. I am not dealing with making question time a debating session.

Mr Hockey interjecting—

The SPEAKER—The member for North Sydney, who seems to be bemused or amused by my comments, knows that I have a view that has not been adopted by the House in any changes to standing orders, but it would assist if the standing orders that apply to the questions applied to the answers. They do not, and the practice of the House has been that there are different interpretations of what is allowed. The minister is in order.

Dr EMERSON—I will wind up my remarks by saying that this is the most absurd question I have ever heard in this chamber. That the member for Cowper would read out a question written by the member for Sturt, the Manager of Opposition Business in the House, asserting that increases in electricity prices over the last year have been caused by the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme is absurd. It is an absurd question. The member for Cowper has embarrassed himself and he should think twice about asking stupid questions in the parliament