Nick Champion (Wakefield, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

It is not for me to respond, but I would point the member for McMillan to the experience in the United States of market based mechanisms to reduce pollution. In the United States, they used a market based mechanism—a trading scheme—to eliminate acid rain. Deputy Speaker Leigh could give the member various articles about how that was done through a trading system, and that would be proof that such systems work.

Earlier, we heard the member for Longman complain about business confidence. He talked about how small businesses in his electorate were complaining about business confidence and were worried about the future. The main reason they are worried about the future is that we have an opposition that is not playing the role of the loyal opposition but rather playing the role of the tea party in Australia.

They are running around the place, increasingly shrill and unbelievable—as this motion demonstrates—in this Henny Penny fashion saying: 'The sky is going to fall. You've got to be scared. You've got to be frightened. It's just around the corner.' We got to 1 July and it was: 'It's just around the corner. Wait until the power bills come in.' After that it will be: 'Wait for this. Wait for that.'

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