Angus Taylor (Hume, Liberal Party, Minister for Energy and Emissions Reduction) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Bass for her question. As a farmer from Northern Tasmania, she knows how important it is to have affordable and reliable energy as we bring down emissions. Like all on this side of the House, she knows that central to that is the development and deployment of low-emission technologies. That's why we have a plan focused on technology, not taxes, through our Technology Investment Roadmap, which is a plan to invest in future technologies that will bring down emissions by bringing those technologies into line economically with higher emitting alternatives. It will accelerate technologies like hydrogen, like carbon capture and storage, like soil carbon measurement—low-carbon materials like steel and aluminium and of course long duration energy storage. Widespread global deployment of those technologies will reduce emissions or eliminate them in sectors responsible for 90 per cent of the world's emissions—45 billion tonnes.

We have a strong track record when it comes to reducing emissions—on setting plans and getting on with achieving those plans. On 30 June we came to the end of the Kyoto era. We met and beat our Kyoto targets by 430 million tonnes, almost a year's worth of emissions. As we look forward to 2030, we have a clear plan to meet and beat those targets—2030 targets as required by the Paris agreement. But not everyone in this place is committed to 2030 targets. Those opposite haven't, because they don't want to admit that their long-term unconditional target requires a 43 per cent emissions reduction by 2030, which was the policy they took to the last election.

They are paralysed by indecision and division. We heard just a few weeks ago that there was a peace deal inside the Labor Party. But today we read that the member for Hunter has called the member for Hindmarsh 'delusional'. He said, 'Those who want to set Australia on a path to slower economic growth and large job losses are delusional'. So much for the peace deal! If this is peace, I would hate to see war. Members opposite have walked away from their 2030 target. They’ve walked away from their plan for the Paris agreement. While those opposite fight amongst themselves, we get on with the job.

See this speech in context