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Today, at the National Library of Australia, Prime Minister Gillard announced the winners of the 2011 Prime Minister’s Literary Awards.

Debut novelist Stephen Daisley won the fiction prize for his novel Traitor and the award for non-fiction went to Rod Moss for The Hard Light of Day.

The young adult fiction category was won by Cath Crowley for Graffiti Moon.

The children’s fiction award went to author Boori Monty Pryor and illustrator Jan Ormerod for their picture book Shake a Leg.

The Gillard Government recognises there are genuine cost of living pressures across the country and not everyone is seeing the benefits of a strong economy.

A range of initiatives come into effect today that will help ease the burden for families, for pensioners, for individuals on low incomes, and for parents that have a child with a disability.

Together these changes will put a little more money in the pockets of millions of Australians, taking a bit of the pressure off their cost of living.

The Opposition Leader, Tony Abbott, shifted his mobile scare campaign over a carbon price into hyperbole-overdrive this week.

Mr Abbott made the following wildly untruthful claims.

Claim 1:“Well I’ve said all along that the carbon tax ultimately spells death for the coal industry...” (Doorstop, 26 June 2011).

Fact 1: Treasury modelling of the former Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme (CPRS) showed that with a carbon price in place the Australian coal industry’s output would grow by 66 per cent by 2050.

Today Prime Minister Gillard visited Perth to address the State Conference of the Australian Labor Party’s Western Australian Branch.

She outlined how the Government has listened to the Western Australian community in developing the Government’s plans for a Minerals Resource Rent Tax, for a review of the distribution of GST revenue and for reform of health and hospitals in Australia.

This week the Opposition Leader, Tony Abbott, persisted with his campaign of stunts and nonsense against the Government’s plan to put a price tag on pollution.

Stunt:Mr Abbott said he would put a bill before both Houses of Parliament at 10am on Monday 20 June, seeking a plebiscite on the carbon price.

Outcome:Mr Abbott was unaware the House of Representatives was not sitting at 10am on Monday. He also confirmed he would ignore the result of a plebiscite if it did not go his way.

Today at the Queensland ALP State Conference in Brisbane, Prime Minister Gillard spoke about the values that drive a Labor Government.  In her speech to ALP members the PM discussed the vision the Labor Government has for every Australian – that we have a strong economy and there are opportunities for everyone.

In her speech the Prime Minister said,

"Just as we prepare our nation for the future, we prepare our party as well.

The Opposition Leader Tony Abbott persisted with his irresponsible hyperbole on the carbon price this week. He made the following misleading and deceptive claims.

Claim 1:“This carbon tax is going to drive the cost of living for vulnerable pensioners up and up and up.” (14 June 2011, Interview with Melissa Doyle, Sunrise, Channel Seven).

Fact: Under the Gillard Government’s carbon price, pensioners will receive generous assistance to help meet the price impacts. This assistance will be permanent. By contrast Mr Abbott has said the Coalition would repeal any pension increases.

Tony Abbott made the following misleading and deceptive claims about a carbon price this week.

Claim 1:“Unfortunately a plant like this would be one of the many victims of Labor’s proposed carbon tax.” (7 June 2011, Visy Pulp and Paper plant, Gibson Island, Queensland).

Fact:Visy would qualify for industry assistance which would shield it from 94.5 per cent of the carbon price under the former Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme (CPRS) arrangements.

The Prime Minister today visited Arnhem Land to celebrate the agreement between the Gumatj and Rirratjingu leaders and Rio Tinto, recognising indigenous ownership and guaranteeing long-term jobs and opportunity for the indigenous people of the region.

Another week, another batch of wild claims by Tony Abbott on a carbon price.

Claim 1:“The steel, the plastic, the cement, the aluminium are all very energy intensive – all is going to increase very significantly under a carbon tax.” (30 May 2011, visit to FAW Building Supplies, Mitchell, ACT).

Fact:Each of the sectors listed will be assisted under the Gillard Government’s carbon price to support jobs. Under the former Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme, steel, cement, plastics and aluminium producers qualified for between 66 per cent and 94.5 per cent shielding from the carbon price.