Julia Gillard (Lalor, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

And why is the Leader of the Opposition running away from the obligations of national leadership, which require us to put policies before the Australian people and to change the nation so that we are best prepared for the nation's future? That is, the obligation of national leadership requires us to tackle climate change in the cheapest way possible, and that is by pricing carbon. This stunt which the Leader of the Opposition is pursuing today is an $80 million stunt, where he has said he would not even abide by the result. I believe Australians would be particularly disturbed to hear that what the Leader of the Opposition would prefer to do with $80 million—he does not want to put it into schools; he does not want to put it into hospitals; he does not want to put it into policies to assist older Australians—is put it into a political stunt because, as usual, he is all about his political interests, not about the national interest. Once again, what we seeing on display in the parliament today is all opposition, no leader.

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