Graham Perrett (Moreton, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I could perhaps have gone with a less literary metaphor which might have been the metaphor of being at the Christmas party where you have Uncle Harry loading the shotgun in the corner. That brings me back to my original introduction where I talked about my great-grandchildren, this legislation before the chamber and my struggle now to look after them later. I said ‘my great-grandchildren’ but I do not have any grandchildren; I have a four-year-old child and a seven-month-old child, so I am a little bit off having grandchildren yet. But this legislation before the chamber is very significant in dealing with climate change. When we try to address climate change and do what we can to change it, who is standing in the way? Who is standing in the way of these endeavours?

Let us have a look at an article by Phillip Coorey in the Brisbane Times entitled ‘Abbott foray will highlight tussle within Coalition’. It is from May 25—a little bit out of date. It says:

Tony Abbott is not crazy enough to believe that he will ever lead the Liberal Party, a prospect he fleetingly embraced after the last election before pulling out of the leadership race.

…            …            …

Due for publication in late July, Abbott’s manifesto will recognise that all new Oppositions need to do some soul-searching to rediscover what they believe in and where they want to go before being fit to return to government.

…            …            …

Abbott’s foray—

that is, the book he has recently published—

will highlight the never-ending tussle within the Coalition over whether to adopt a moderate or conservative approach to policy. The wrestling has been a hallmark of Malcolm Turnbull’s leadership.

This returns me to my question of who is standing in the way. Obviously, the people standing in the way of trying to address the possible ravages of climate change are those opposite, and the question is: what do they stand for? Is it policy or is it politics? I could have quoted from an article by Phillip Coorey, which was quoted in question time today, in which he cited an opposition MP who said:

We were staring at an electoral abyss. We had to pretend we cared.

That is in the context of the opposition addressing climate change and bringing in a cap-and-trade scheme or whatever they seem to have grasped fleetingly today in their party room.

So what do the opposition stand for on climate change? Because it is important to establish what they are in favour of. To quote a great singer—it might have been John Cougar Mellencamp—from the eighties or nineties:

You’ve got to stand for something, or you’re gonna fall for anything.

When we are talking about the Liberal Party, it is interesting to try and ascertain what they are interested in. Obviously, the Leader of the Liberal Party was interested in climate change. He obviously took the fight up in the cabinet room, explaining that change is a reality. He is not one of the sceptics at all. He believed that climate change was occurring; he believed the science. He is not one of those who have been questioning it. But in talking to the Liberal Party now it seems that politics has triumphed over policy—and I am talking about the real part of the coalition, which is the Liberal Party not the National Party. I am not sure what the views of the National Party are. I come from Queensland where the airwaves have been dominated by Barnaby Joyce and what he represents, which I have not quite grasped.

When we look at the history of government in Australia and the tough decisions that have been made in tough times, we see that we turn to the Labor Party for leadership. For three out of four years since Federation, the Liberal Party or the conservative parties have been in power. But when we look at what they have done, they have really benefited from the decisions of the Labor Party. I do not think we could go so far as to call them a parasite; that would be stretching it a bit. Maybe it would be more appropriate to call them an epiphyte, or, if we look at the National Party— (Time expired)

Debate interrupted.

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