The Opposition leader Tony Abbott continued his mobile scare campaign today with a visit to FAW Building Supplies in the Canberra suburb of Mitchell where he made another fundamental error about the Government’s carbon price policy.

Mr Abbott claimed the cost of Australian-made raw materials used by FAW Building Supplies would rise under a carbon price and this would either push up house prices or see FAW switch to cheaper imported products:

“Nearly all of this [raw materials] uses vast quantities of energy in its production. The steel, the plastic, the cement, the aluminium are all very energy intensive. All are going to increase very significantly under a carbon tax.”

Once again Mr Abbott is totally wrong.

If he bothered to acquaint himself with the facts he would know that each of the products he listed – steel, cement, plastics and aluminium – will be provided with assistance under the Government’s carbon price mechanism.

This assistance will go to producers of these goods precisely because they are emissions-intensive and face international competition, a fact conveniently ignored by Mr Abbott.

Under the former Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme, these sectors would have qualified for between 66 per cent and 94.5 per cent shielding from the carbon price.

This would allow those industries to keep competing against imports and on international markets while providing an incentive to cut carbon pollution and be part of the transformation to a clean energy economy which is needed to tackle climate change.

Mr Abbott should be ashamed for frightening companies like FAW Building Supplies by making unfounded and inaccurate claims.

Other Coalition MPs emboldened by their leader’s reckless behaviour were also out and about making ludicrous blunders on the carbon price today.

Coming into Parliament this morning, Liberal MP Sharman Stone blamed a decision by a food manufacturer to shift production from Australia to New Zealand on the Government’s policy of introducing a carbon price.

When a journalist asked the obvious question – how this could be the case given New Zealand is taking action on climate change – Dr Stone replied:

“Well New Zealand is talking about climate change action, yes, but they’re watching to see what happens in Australia. They have not moved yet, they’re saying what Australia might do we might do but that is, I think, code for we’ll make sure we remain more competitive that Australia when it comes to energy costs.”

This is wrong. New Zealand has had an emissions trading scheme since 2008.

It’s a pity the Opposition Leader’s conduct has encouraged Liberal MPs to think it is acceptable in public debate to just make things up.