James Bidgood (Dawson, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Defence Personnel, Materiel and Science and the Minister Assisting the Minister for Climate Change. What is the cost of not acting on climate change and why is passing the government’s Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme in the national interest?

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

I thank the member for Dawson for the question. I can attest to the House that he has been a very persistent advocate on behalf of coalminers and their families in his electorate and also on behalf of renewable energy projects in the electorate of Dawson as well.

The Prime Minister, just a few minutes ago, was referring to the latest scientific report that has been released, The Copenhagen Diagnosis, which warns that climate change is occurring quicker than had previously been expected. It underlines again that, if we do not act, Australia faces huge potential economic costs from the impacts on water security, energy supplies, health, coastal communities and other infrastructure. On top of this the Treasury modelling has shown that if we defer action Australia will face long-term costs around 15 per cent higher than if we act now. To put that into a global context, the International Energy Agency says it will cost an additional $500 billion to cut global emissions for each year that action is delayed. As we have remarked previously, Australia will miss out on jobs in the growing global carbon market if we do not start making this transformation now.

There has been some commentary in recent days, too, about the issue of household compensation to meet the costs of the introduction of a carbon price into the economy. The government has provided for significant levels of assistance to low- and middle-income households to deal with this transition. Under the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme, pensioners, seniors, carers and people with disability will be fully compensated for expected increases in the cost of living. In fact around 90 per cent of low-income households will receive assistance equal to 120 per cent of their cost of living increase. And 97 per cent of middle-income households will receive some direct cash assistance, with 50 per cent of them being fully compensated. It is worth noting that the opposition leader, the member for Wentworth, indicated on the Sunrise program yesterday that the government’s CPRS included ‘an adequate and fair and sustainable level of assistance for households’.

The Senate is now debating amendments to the CPRS, and the fundamental position is that it is time to get on and pass the legislation. It is time that the sceptics and the conspiracy theorists on the other side stepped aside and got out of the way. They have had their time in the sun; it is time to pass the legislation. We had, as parliament will recall, the Leader of the Opposition in the Senate seriously positing on the Four Corners program that after the decline of communism, the international left somehow got behind the environment movement and climate change in an attempt to de-industrialise the western world—a preposterous proposition for someone with his responsibility. Senator Bernardi has offered, during the second reading debate in the Senate, the following words:

I do not and will not worship at the altar of green witchcraft.

Others have remained captured, as I indicated yesterday, by Lord Monckton’s world government conspiracy theory. Senator Cash indicated in the second reading debate that she is convinced of an evil United Nations conspiracy to take over the Australian economy. Senator Boswell is travelling in cyberspace finding adherence to Lord Monckton’s theory. We have had Nazi equated to climate science; the member for Warringah believing the science is irrelevant because grapes grew in Roman times on Hadrian’s Wall; the member for Mackellar proclaiming that the burning of dung is the biggest problem here; and Senator Abetz arguing that weeds are the greatest threat to the climate. Of course, Senator Joyce seriously posited through all of this that we will be paying $150 for a leg of lamb.

Enough is enough. There have been enough absurd, ridiculous, bizarre contributions from that side of politics in the sceptics and theorists camp, and it is time that it finished. It is time that the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme legislation be passed. The Business Council, the Australian Industry Group, the National Farmers Federation, the Australian Council of Social Service, the ACTU, environment groups and premiers all want this legislation passed. The deal needs to be honoured and the legislation needs to be passed.

When this legislation is passed it will join the list of great Labor reforms in this country: the opening up of the economy in the 1980s, the decentralisation of the industrial relations system, Medicare, universal superannuation, social security, equal opportunity, trade practices and corporations law. All of these great reforms are Labor reforms. And the government’s action on climate change will join that wonderful list. It will be a huge nation-building contribution.