Julia Gillard (Lalor, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for his question. As he would be aware if he had followed the commentary in the United States, President Obama has been in favour of a cap-and-trade scheme to price carbon in the American economy and, following the mid-term elections, has accepted that the reality of the congress that he faces is that he will not be able to legislate for it. He is experiencing obstruction in the congress for a proposal that he supports and consequently understands that he will not be able to get a scheme through. One should not interpret President Obama’s statement as him changing his mind about an emissions trading scheme. That is simply not true. He is accepting the domestic political realities that he faces.

As I said when I met with President Obama over the weekend, Australia and America are great mates. We are great mates and we will continue to be.

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