Wayne Swan (Lilley, Australian Labor Party, Treasurer) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for what is a very important question. Climate change is the biggest economic challenge that the global community faces. Under this government, Australia is rising to that challenge—unlike the climate change sceptics opposite, who put it in the too-hard basket for 12 years. It is the case that the economic costs of inaction are greater than the costs of action. Left unaddressed, climate change will undermine economic growth and destroy our way of life. Climate change threatens agricultural exports worth $27 billion. The costs of extreme weather alone could reach between 0.5 per cent and one per cent of world GDP by the middle of the century. We need to change the way the economy works, to move from a high-emissions economy to a low-emissions economy. Reducing carbon emissions is a growth strategy for the future. Not acting is what destroys growth and prosperity into the future.

The best way to address carbon emissions is through an emissions-trading scheme. Introducing one of these is difficult. We do not pretend otherwise. Tough decisions will need to be made, because major economic reform is never easy. Major economic reform requires courage, leadership and purpose. The longer we delay, the more it will cost. Just imagine what this country might have been like if back then, five years ago, the former government had had the courage to introduce an emissions-trading scheme when it went to the cabinet, when they had the opportunity to grasp the future, and they squibbed it. This government says we have no choice but to act.

There are some opposite who once thought that an emissions-trading scheme was something that was worth while. That was when they had some faint connection to economic credibility. In fact, the member for Wentworth’s website—and I do not know if he showed this to the focus group or not—had this to say: ‘Australia’s emissions-trading scheme will be the most comprehensive in the world.’

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