Malcolm Turnbull (Wentworth, Liberal Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Hansard source

I heard the member opposite make a point about climate scepticism. Let me say this in conclusion: the basic flaw in the government’s approach to this issue is that they treat it as a political issue, not as a scientific and economic issue. The objective of an emissions trading scheme is not to prove that Kevin Rudd is greener than me, greener than John Howard or greener than anybody else; the objective is to effectively reduce emissions at the lowest cost—that is the objective. We must recognise that the key to that is design. It is not a question of being for or against an emissions trading scheme. There are few people nowadays that do not agree that a price on carbon is inevitable in the world in the years ahead. How we put that price on carbon is the critical question.

The parliamentary secretary can chuckle away. But he would not be chuckling if his government’s inept management of this issue, if it were to be fulfilled, resulted in thousands of jobs—by members of the unions that he used to be proud to represent. This scheme, if implemented in accordance with its terms, will be a job destroyer. The parliamentary secretary recognises that—that is why he is scrabbling to change it. We have the time to get it right. We have the means to get the expert advice, the objective advice that has been denied us, from the Productivity Commission. We have a responsibility to protect the jobs of Australians and not to sacrifice Australian jobs for no environmental gain.

See this speech in context