Greg Combet (Charlton, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Climate Change and Energy Efficiency) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Blair for his question. He has been very active in relation to this issue in particular. Members of the House will recall the prophecies of doom and gloom made by the coalition in relation to carbon pricing and how it would operate in the meat processing sector. Guess what? The doom and gloom has not transpired. Senator Joyce claimed that a leg of lamb would cost $100. We had another claim by the coalition that for each head of cattle admitted to an abattoir it would cost $575,000. And it was all garbage; it was all rubbish. All the rubbish that the other side went on with about this issue was totally deceitful and misleading.

The reality is that the government has worked very closely with the meat industry in applying the carbon price within the industry. It is leading to new investment in new technologies that will cut electricity consumption, reduce emissions intensity, cut greenhouse gas emissions and improve productivity and competitiveness. In making those commitments, the industry has worked with the government. Various grants are being provided to various abattoirs to support the investments being made.

For example, in January this year I and the member for Blair announced a $4.4 million grant to JBS Australia for its Dinmore abattoir facility and meat processing plant. The result is that JBS will slash its electricity costs by $1.1 million a year by covering its settlement ponds, capturing the methane and generating electricity for its site. The emissions intensity of that particular facility at Dinmore—that is, the amount of pollution produced per kilo of beef—will be reduced by 81 per cent. The payback period for the company's investment is only two years; it will start to get a return on this investment in two years. A very similar project is being undertaken by AJ Bush and Sons at its Bromelton meat processing plant. The government has provided a $6.1 million grant. That investment will cut the energy costs at Bromelton by 46 per cent per year and reduce the emissions intensity of the plant by 64 per cent. These are quite extraordinary productivity and environmental outcomes achieved through the application of the carbon price in the meat processing industry.

Guess what else? These things will all be abolished by the other side. The cow cockies will be down here arguing for these to be kept. The position that the opposition has is so ridiculous, so environmentally absurd and so economically irresponsible that they will be under pressure from people on their own side of politics to keep the carbon price in place. The so-called pledge to get rid of it is simply not credible. (Time expired)

See this speech in context