Page 2217 - Week 07 - Thursday, 7 August 2014
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The carbon price was in place for two years, and it is instructive to look at what actually happened to the economy during that period. Stephen Koukoulas, a research fellow at the think tank Per Capita, analyses some of this information. He says that since the carbon price was introduced, real GDP has risen five per cent over seven quarters, with an annualised growth rate of 2.9 per cent, which is around the long run trend.
Employment has risen by 240,800 people, made up of 91,200 new full-time jobs and 149,600 part-time jobs. This is a touch below trend, but this, together with the GDP growth rate, suggests productivity growth has been strong. The stock market, the all ordinaries index, has risen 35 per cent, adding over $410 billion to the value of Australian shares. A further $90 billion or so of dividends were paid to shareholders while the carbon price was in place.
According to RP Data, house prices rose 16 per cent while the carbon price was in place, adding approximately $680 billion to the wealth of owners of houses. It is interesting; it is really interesting.
Members interjecting—
MR RATTENBURY: The interjections have started to come thick and fast. They do not like what they are hearing. They do not like the fact that their entire myth about this being a wrecking ball to the Australian economy is disproved by the cold, hard numbers that are in place and that show what actually happened to the Australian economy in the two years the carbon price was in place. It is not an economic wrecking ball at all. We have seen that the Australian economy has gone along. It has gone along quite well. In fact, we have seen a significant boost to the alternative energy industries.
I note the interesting comments that Minister Corbell made about gas prices. He made some very salient points about the impact of gas prices and the way that gas prices are being forced up by a range of other external factors. That is where renewables really come into the equation, because they deliver costs that are not going to go up, costs that will be stable for the next 10, 15 or 20 years once the infrastructure is in place.
I am not necessarily a huge fan of using all these economic indicators as a sign of a valuable society. I think a valuable society is measured by much more than just these economic indicators. But there is no doubt that those figures show that the Australian economy did not have a wrecking ball go through it while the carbon tax was in place.
Stephen Koukoulas reminds us of a series of other indicators that remained solid or strong over the two years—retail sales, new motor vehicle registrations, building approvals, credit, housing finance and the like.
Members interjecting—
MR RATTENBURY: They are interjecting yet again; they just cannot handle it when the actual facts show that their case does not stack up. Australia’s AAA credit
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