Greg Hunt (Flinders, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Climate Change, Environment and Urban Water) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and the Arts and it concerns climate change. Can the minister give a guarantee that greenhouse gas emissions trading will not increase the price of petrol?

Peter Garrett (Kingsford Smith, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Environment, Heritage and the Arts) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the honourable member for his question. We are at an interesting phase in this question time, and I will tell the House why. The reason is that at last we have a question about climate change from an opposition that did nothing about it for 11 years.

Opposition Members:

Opposition members interjecting—

Malcolm Turnbull (Wentworth, Liberal Party, Shadow Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, on a point of order: the minister may be at an interesting stage but he is not at a relevant stage.

Joe Hockey (North Sydney, Liberal Party, Manager of Opposition Business in the House) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Don’t give him the answers, Albo.

Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! I just make the observation that, if members on my left are worried about the minister being coached, the interruption was caused by one of theirs. I say to the member for Wentworth that I think that when he rose from his seat, very definitively on this occasion, the minister had been less than 17 seconds into his answer.

Bob Baldwin (Paterson, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister Assisting the Shadow Minister for Defence) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It seemed like a lifetime.

Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It may be for you, Member for Paterson.

Peter Garrett (Kingsford Smith, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Environment, Heritage and the Arts) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The fact is that for 11 years the Howard government did not even acknowledge the existence of climate change. Now they are coming into the House to ask us questions about the economic impacts of actually doing something about it. That is the gesture that we are witnessing in the House today. I remember very well when the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change first produced a set of data which suggested that there was the possibility that we may have an increase in temperatures on this planet of some four to six degrees and the question was put to the then Prime Minister, Mr Howard, as to what the impact of that would be on the people of Australia and our planet, and he said that it would be uncomfortable for some. Let me tell you, Mr Speaker, that it will be uncomfortable for some if they get up to the dispatch box and ask us questions about climate change, because their record is one that can be condemned with every answer that is given. Let me continue, Mr Speaker. Don’t wave your fingers at me, Joe.

Opposition Members:

Opposition members interjecting—

Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The minister will resume his seat. The member for North Sydney will resume his seat. To try to shorten this process, I simply say to the minister that he has now had a good preamble—that is in time, because I am not allowed to reflect on the matter—but he will now return to the question.

Peter Garrett (Kingsford Smith, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Environment, Heritage and the Arts) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The fact is that the Rudd government has in place a set of measures which will ensure the least cost delivery of greenhouse gas emissions trading through the appropriate utilisation of market mechanisms and sensible frameworks and regulations—something that those opposite were never able to bring forward to the Australian people. We saw last night that they did not have any idea about the impact of Work Choices. For 11 years they showed us they did not have any idea about the impact of climate change. The Rudd Labor government is fully committed to putting those measures in place—

Joe Hockey (North Sydney, Liberal Party, Manager of Opposition Business in the House) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, I rise on a point of order which goes to relevance. This is ridiculous. It was a question about the policies of the government and the impact they will have on petrol prices. If he cannot answer it, he should sit down.

Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I again say to the member for North Sydney that he does not assist with his little addendas to his points of order. I appreciate that the minister has responsibility for the arts, but he should not give a critique on TV shows. He should return to his response to the question asked.

Peter Garrett (Kingsford Smith, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Environment, Heritage and the Arts) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Rudd Labor government has brought forward a set of complementary measures which ensure that we have a least cost impost on the Australian economy as we go about the fact of reducing greenhouse gas emissions over time. It was the Rudd Labor government that set a target—something that the opposition was allergic to. It was the Rudd Labor government that ratified Kyoto—something that the opposition was allergic to. It is the Rudd Labor government that has put in place a sensible process of understanding research and commissioning advice to best inform this government as to the best way to ensure that we have both a sustainable economy and a sustainable environment—something that the opposition was never capable of doing.

Greg Hunt (Flinders, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Climate Change, Environment and Urban Water) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, I rise on a point of order which goes to relevance. The question was very simple; it related to the cost of petrol under the policies to be introduced.

Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The minister has concluded his answer.

Opposition Members:

Opposition members interjecting—

Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The members on my left have given the member for Leichhardt his free kick for the day. As long as the media spell his name right, he is probably happy. I call the member for Leichhardt.