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

I welcome each and every question from the opposition on the question of climate change, because the Deputy Leader of the Opposition just stood up and addressed the parliament and asked this on behalf of the Leader of the Opposition, who has this as his core belief on climate change: that climate change is absolute crap. That is his view: that climate change is absolute crap, to which he has now added the proposition that, in fact, when you look at the history of climate change, the world was hotter in Jesus’ time.

Can I say to the Deputy Leader of the Opposition that, as she asks this question on behalf of the Leader of the Opposition, she also does so on behalf of a party which is now dominated by climate change sceptics. I say to the Leader of the Opposition, through his deputy, that this government looks forward to fighting the next election on climate change, against those opposite. We look forward to fighting it on climate change at the next election because we accept climate change science; those opposite reject climate change science. We, on this side of the House, have ratified Kyoto; those on that side of the House refused to ratify Kyoto. We, on this side of the House, boosted the renewable energy target to 20 per cent; those opposite failed to do so. We, on this side of the House, negotiated an emissions trading scheme in good faith; those opposite, led by the Leader of the Opposition, initially supported it—

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