Scott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

When I give a commitment to the Australian people about what we're going to do on emissions reduction targets, we keep it. We keep it. We said we would meet our Kyoto targets and we did. We said that we would meet and beat our emissions reduction targets for Paris and that we would stay in the Paris Agreement, and we took that to the last election. Those opposite took to the last election a policy saying that they wanted to reduce emissions by 45 per cent by 2030. We said that was the wrong policy. It is still the wrong policy. It is not something we support. Those opposite, I'm sure, have a myriad of views about this, but our view has not changed. We will meet and beat our targets, and we will do it by ensuring that Australia invests, particularly right across the regional areas of this country, in the changes in energy technology that are needed to ensure that Australia remains prosperous over the next 30 years and over the next 50 years.

To meet the global challenge of climate change, to ensure we understand what is occurring as a result of the world's response to climate change, we have to be honest and understand that that means there will be impacts in this country. There will be economic impacts particularly across the regions of this country, and those challenges need to be confronted and met to ensure that our regions emerge stronger. To deal with climate change, yes, you need an emissions reduction plan and, yes, you need an environmental plan. But, most importantly, to secure the livelihoods of Australians you need an economic plan, and the Australian people know they can trust the Liberals and the Nationals when it comes to managing the economy.

If you're going to rely on the Labor Party for an economic plan to secure your job or save your job in this rapidly changing global climate, you're relying on the wrong party, because Labor do not have the record of managing. Under the leadership of both this opposition leader and those that came before him, they did not have an economic plan to deal with the global challenges of climate change. When asked what it would cost at the last election, they couldn't say. They have a target at the moment with no plan. They have a target which is a blank cheque. The Labor Party want to write a blank cheque, which they want Australians to pay for, when it comes to this issue.

Well, that's not from the Liberals and the Nationals. The Liberals and the Nationals will always have an economic plan to deal with the big challenges facing our country. That's what we're doing. Those opposite have learned nothing.

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