Laura Smyth (La Trobe, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. Why does Australia need to invest in a clean energy nation by making the top 1,000 big polluters pay for the carbon pollution they create?

Julia Gillard (Lalor, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for La Trobe for her question. I know she believes climate change is real and she represents a community that wants to see action. I think she probably represents a community that is also very pleased to see a strong female role model in this parliament representing their community. I think that is the spirit of modern Australia. Sometimes in this parliament we do not see that spirit of equal opportunity on display.

On the question that I have been asked by the member for La Trobe, we need to invest in a clean energy future because we cannot risk being left behind. This nation is at risk of being left behind. Our competitors are investing in low emissions and renewable energy on a massive scale. The United States and Europe are now spending more on clean energy investments than on conventional investments. That is an important thing to recognise—more on clean energy investments. In 25 years, 80 per cent of America’s energy needs will be supplied by clean energy sources.

China is shutting down one high-polluting, inefficient and unsafe coal power plant every one to two weeks and replacing them with larger and economically and environmentally much more efficient plants. China is also the biggest producer of solar panels and is installing wind turbines at the rate of one per hour. India is taxing coal, reaping half a billion dollars to invest in clean energy. By 2022, they will generate enough power by solar alone to meet almost half of our energy needs. If we do not act now we will cost this country investment and jobs; we will cost this country future prosperity. We need to adapt to a low-carbon future. We are the highest emitter of carbon pollution in the developed world per capita, emitting more per head of population than even the United States.

By pricing carbon under the mechanism the government has proposed, we will ask the 1,000 big polluters in our economy to pay for the carbon pollution they create. At this time when pollution can be put into the atmosphere for nothing we will put a price on it, and because there is a price business will innovate and business will find a lower-pollution way of doing what they do. They will become more efficient; they will generate less carbon pollution. As we do that, because it is a big adjustment, we will generously assist Australian households. We are a Labor government and we will do that fairly. We will assist businesses to make the transition and we will fund climate change programs.

We believe climate change is real; the opposition are caught in denial. We want to make the big polluters pay; the opposition want to reward them. We want to help households; the opposition want to tax them $720 in order to subsidise polluters. We want to invest in clean energy; they want to invest in a scare campaign. We want to be driven and will be driven by the national interest; day after day we see political interest on display from the opposition. Despite their fear tactics, despite their scare campaign, we will get on with the job and price carbon to create a clean energy future for this country.