Abbott baits PM, Wong over carbon tax

Federal Opposition Leader Tony Abbott has used an early morning visit to a Melbourne fish market to bait the government about its carbon pricing scheme.

tony_abbott_2_B_110614_aap_1112552284

Federal Opposition Leader Tony Abbott has used an early morning visit to a Melbourne fish market to bait the government about its carbon pricing scheme.

He accused Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Finance Minister Penny Wong of not knowing the finer details of their scheme.

"The finance minister couldn't explain the cost of the (carbon) tax," he told reporters.

The opposition leader was referring to an interview Senator Wong gave on Monday when she said the revenue from the sale of carbon permits was $18 billion, when government papers say it is $25 billion.

"And we now know the prime minister couldn't explain where the money was coming from ... to buy out Hazelwood (power station in Victoria)."

Ms Gillard on Tuesday said an undisclosed amount of money to buy back 2000 megawatts from the nation's highest-polluting coal-fired power stations would come from the budget's contingency fund.

"It's just not good enough," Mr Abbott said.


Share

1 min read

Published

Updated

Source: AAP



Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world