Kevin Rudd (Griffith, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. I refer to the Prime Minister’s previous answer, when he said that he challenged the opposition on what else could have been done over the last decade to reduce Australian greenhouse gas emissions. Why did the Prime Minister abandon the National Greenhouse Strategy agreed by a cabinet subcommittee in August 2000? Why did the Prime Minister reject a cabinet submission from the Treasurer in 2003 proposing the establishment of a national emissions trading scheme? Why did the Prime Minister shut down the emissions trading division of the Australian Greenhouse Office? Prime Minister, why did the government sit on its hands for the last 11 years and do nothing about the introduction of an emissions trading scheme—the critical missing market element in Australia—to bring greenhouse gas emissions down?

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