Andrew Giles (Scullin, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Yes, I am focusing on the Prime Minister because it is his job to safeguard our future. It is a pretty fundamental responsibility, and it is a responsibility he knows he should be up to, but he refuses to stand up for it. That is why this MPI is so important, and I hope those in his party room who also share our belief in the science will be paying attention to this MPI and paying attention to the Prime Minister living up to his responsibilities.

In question time today he spoke weasel words on the Clean Energy Finance Corporation. I hope people pay attention to the Hansard because that was an extraordinary contribution. It was almost as extraordinary as him deflecting questions to his climate-sell-out mentor—the assistant minister for resources, I think, is his formal title—the member for Flinders. He is his environmental mentor, because Greg Hunt, as we on this side of the House all know, and as he well knows, knows that the government's positioning is not just misguided; it is plain wrong.

The Prime Minister talks about his excitement about the future. But if he is serious about Australia's future prospects, he needs to be building a consensus around climate action. He needs, in the words of the member for Lyons, to be consistent. He needs to be credible. He needs to support an emissions trading scheme, as he well knows. But he has placed his personal ambition above all else. He has mortgaged our future to his ego—and doesn't he look pleased about that! The weasel words he loves employing dance around all the issues. He does not deal directly with them, but he continues to support policies that he knows are wrong. So I find myself agreeing with his climate mentor, the member for Flinders, the assistant minister for resources, on one thing. This is serious, but it is a tragedy because the minister is not serious about this and neither is the Prime Minister. Both know, unlike the member for Lyons, that there is a different way forward. Labor's approach is to listen to the science; to listen to the economy and to respect our future.

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