Senator Thistlethwaite is out of touch with impact of carbon tax on families and small business
09-February-2012
Luke Hartsuyker MP -
Labor Senator Matt Thistlethwaite has shown how out of touch he is with North Coast workers, pensioners and small business, Federal Member for Cowper Luke Hartsuyker said today.
Mr Hartsuyker was commenting on Senator Thistlethwaite’s rejection of claims about the full impact of the carbon tax on North Coast families.
“Senator Thistlethwaite can rattle off all the statistics in the world, but the bottom line is the compensation being offered to families will not cover the increase in the cost of living as a result of the carbon tax ,” Mr Hartsuyker said.
“Small business is the economic driver of regional Australia but gets no financial assistance from the carbon tax, so they will have no choice but to raise their prices when the cost of electricity continues to go up and up.
“Butchers, bakers, restaurants, food processors and manufacturers will all be affected.
“But it’s not just higher prices which will hurt struggling North Coast families
“Now we learn that Treasury modelling predicts that average wages will drop by one per cent as a result of the carbon tax. That equates to $600 per year for a worker on average wages.
“How does Senator Thistlethwaite expect struggling North Coast families to pay for that?”
Mr Hartsuyker said Federal Labor was always loose with the truth when it came to money.
“Just remember in May last year they forecast a Budget deficit of $22 billion. By December the deficit had increased to $37 billion.
“But somehow they now want us to believe that average households are going to be 20 cents a week better off after carbon tax compensation is factored in. They want us to believe the price of food will only rise by 80 cents per week.
“It is all magic pudding economics and just confirms how desperate Labor is to impose this great big new tax on everything.”