Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Finance and Deregulation) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the senator for her question. It deals to a great extent with the same issues that her colleague asked previously. As I have explained, the government has put in place a very significant set of assistance whereby nine out of 10 households will receive some assistance through tax cuts or payment increases; about two out of three households will get payments or tax cuts that cover their entire average impact; and about four million households will get an extra buffer with assistance that is at least 20 per cent more than the average price impact.

In addition, there are a range of benefits and opportunities for regional Australia under the package. The Carbon Farming Initiative will enable farmers to benefit. Obviously the carbon price does not apply to agricultural emissions, but there are opportunities through the Carbon Farming Initiative. We are also investing, as the Senate would know, to unlock the potential of clean energy in our regions in solar, in wind, in geothermal—all investments that are about clean energy jobs.

In addition, there are some $4.3 billion of investments in regional Australia in the 2011-12 budget. Let us just pause for a minute to recognise that: $4.3 billion investments in regional Australia—