Kevin Rudd (Griffith, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

My first response to the Leader of the Opposition’s question is that the decision to back an emissions trading scheme in this country was first taken by John Howard as Prime Minister of Australia two years ago. The second point is that it was a decision also supported by the then Treasurer, Mr Costello, and, until five or six weeks ago, it was a decision supported by the Leader of the Opposition, the member for Wentworth. It has also been a position supported by the member for Flinders and various members that I can identify across the front bench of the coalition.

On the question of the United States, which the honourable member has asked about, can I say this: in the United States President Obama confronts an institution which is well known to this place as well—it is called ‘the senate’. The senate in the United States is not necessarily going to be accommodating of his aspirations to introduce an emissions trading scheme. On the question of global action in emissions trading I would ask the Leader of the Opposition to answer this: why is it that 30 advanced economies around the world have made the same decision as John Howard, Peter Costello, Malcolm Turnbull and, until six weeks ago, all of those represented opposite? The reason for this change is that those opposite have chosen instead a path which is all about the politics of complaint, not the policy of solution.

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