Brett Raguse (Forde, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Defence Personnel, Materiel and Science, and Minister Assisting the Minister for Climate Change. Will the minister outline what arguments have been raised against taking action on climate change?

Greg Combet (Charlton, Australian Labor Party, Minister Assisting the Minister for Climate Change) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Firstly, I think it is important to acknowledge those in the coalition who are supportive of action on climate change, because it is very important for the Australian economy and for our contribution to the battle against climate change and to achieving greenhouse gas emission reductions. However, as has been fairly evident over the last 24 to 48 hours, there are some fairly deep divisions on the other side of politics. We have seen some quite extraordinary scenes, including a struggle for leadership of the Liberal Party over this issue. It is important in this context that we consider some of the arguments that have been mounted against taking action on climate change and that we are clear about what some of these arguments actually involve.

We have heard the argument that this might be some left-wing conspiracy—that the international climate scientists have been engaged in some form of conspiracy that will take us down some left-wing governance path. But an argument has also been advanced, by Lord Monckton, a former adviser to Margaret Thatcher, that the international negotiations are in fact a conspiracy to establish world government. Lord Monckton has argued that a new global treaty on climate change would effectively mean that nation-states sign away their sovereignty to a new, United Nations world government. This has been seriously posited. Lord Monckton has argued that the aim is for the UN to have the power to directly intervene in the financial, economic, tax and environmental affairs of all nations that sign the global agreement. Lord Monckton, only about a month or so ago, I think it was, gave the following warning to American citizens:

… in the next few weeks, unless you stop it, your president will sign your freedom, your democracy, and your prosperity away forever.

So Lord Monckton is positing a fairly serious conspiracy theory. This is a theory that climate change is a plot to destroy national sovereignty and to establish world government. That is essentially his argument.

During the second reading debate on the CPRS legislation, there have been a few observations about this, and I will just briefly refer to a couple of the issues that have been raised. One contributor indicated that the draft treaty ‘effectively gives complete power over the Australian economy to a committee of unelected UN carbon regulators’. Another contributor in the Senate had this to say:

In cyber Australia right now there is a growing groundswell of disaffected people. I think probably up to a million people have been listening to Lord Monckton …

One other contribution was:

… the aim of the Copenhagen draft treaty is to set up a sort of transnational government on a scale the world has never seen.

Let us just have a look at this contention. What this is seriously arguing is that the majority of world leaders—people such as President Barack Obama; Angela Merkel, Chancellor of Germany; and Gordon Brown, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, amongst others—are in some form of international conspiracy to cede their national sovereignty and establish world government, presumably under the guidance of the UN, and that the vehicle for this great goal is the international negotiations for a treaty to reduce greenhouse gas emissions! This is the most bizarre, absurd, ridiculous contention that one could imagine being posited in this debate, and yet it gets an airing.

After five weeks of negotiations in good faith, the government yesterday put to the coalition a deal on the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme, and the Leader of the Opposition last night indicated that in his view it is good for jobs and it is good for the environment. The member for Groom, with whom of course Senator Wong and I have had considerable dealings in these negotiations, described the package as an exceptional package. It is a deal that the Business Council of Australia, the Aluminium Council, the Australian Industry Group, the Australian Council of Social Service and many environment groups are supporting, and they are calling for its passage through the Senate.

No major modern political party can be held captive by climate change sceptics and conspiracy theorists if it is to retain credibility. It is extremely important for this country that this week we get beyond these issues and ensure the passage of the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme through parliament. We need it to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, we need it for the national interest and we need it to play a constructive role in international negotiations that will be about combating climate change, not about establishing some new, world government.