Sharon Grierson (Newcastle, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Regional Australia, Regional Development and Local Government and Minister for the Arts. Will the minister inform the House why regional communities across Australia see the government's move to a clean energy future as an opportunity, not a threat? What recent efforts have there been to gauge community opinion and what is the government's response?

Simon Crean (Hotham, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Regional Australia, Regional Development and Local Government) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Newcastle for her question because she, like me, was responsible for convening a forum in the Hunter.

Honourable Members:

Honourable members interjecting—

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

Order! The minister has the call. He will be listened to in silence.

Simon Crean (Hotham, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Regional Australia, Regional Development and Local Government) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank again the member for Newcastle for her question. We convened a forum together in the Hunter to talk about the opportunities. This was one of 10 forums that were convened in the intervening break since the time the parliament got up. In all of those 10 forums there are two common themes that have come through.

Mr Dutton interjecting—

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

The member for Dickson is warned!

Simon Crean (Hotham, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Regional Australia, Regional Development and Local Government) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

One is the need for these economies to diversify their economic base and two is their preparedness to embrace a clean energy future. In all of these communities, on the second point in particular, they are already making the change. They are seeing the opportunities in a clean energy future rather than the threats that they hear from the other side. They have shown real and positive interest in the package that we have announced. Whether it is looking at the opportunities in the Clean Energy Finance Corporation, the clean technology programs, the jobs package, the Low Carbon Communities package, the Biodiversity Fund or Carbon Farming Initative packages, these are the opportunities they want to take because they have determined this agenda themselves. This is not imposed upon them; this is their agenda. They have determined the what and they are looking for assistance in the how. The package that has been announced by the Prime Minister provides that very assistance. One of these forums that I attended was actually in Whyalla. A couple of weeks before, the Leader of the Opposition had been to Whyalla and he had great news for Whyalla. He told Whyalla it would be wiped off the map. This was the rosy news he was giving Whyalla! That is not what the community in Whyalla was telling me. They saw real opportunity in this package for themselves. They are developing a green energy grid strategy. They have got a group that is looking for investment opportunities and skills. I visited two sites over there, a solar site which has a potential for in excess of 200 jobs and also a rare earths facility that has the opportunity of providing in excess of 1,000 jobs—hardly wiping them off the face of the earth.

This is the problem that we are dealing with here: an opposition that simply wants to run a fear campaign because it has got no policy substance. Its policy has been ridiculed by everyone who has had a look at it. In that policy it was the Leader of the Opposition that was going to close the Hazelwood power station until he went down there and spoke to the workers and said, 'Oh no, I'm not closing your power station,' walking as usual on both sides of the street.

Those redundancies at Loy Yang the Leader of the Opposition talked about before were announced back in March. This is old news, and trying to link it to the package is not just dishonest but running the fear campaign, which we will counter at every point and which we know the regional leadership will embrace. (Time expired)

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

My question is to the Prime Minister. Does the Prime Minister deny that her own modelling shows the government will spend $3½ billion on buying foreign carbon credits in 2020? Does the Prime Minister deny that her own modelling shows that this will rise to $57 billion in 2010 terms or almost 1½ per cent of GDP by 2050, to be paid to foreign carbon traders? Given emissions in Australia will barely change over that period, is this not just all economic pain without environmental gain?

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

I thank the shadow minister for his question. Yes, the documents that go with our carbon pricing package, including the modelling, show that it is an internationally linked scheme—and, yes, to the shadow minister who asked the question, I understand he is in favour of an internationally linked scheme. He has been on the public record in favour of such a scheme. When he was on the public record in favour of such a scheme he was on the public record for exactly the right reason, because what the shadow minister said himself was that you have an internationally linked scheme so you get carbon abatement at the lowest possible cost. Absolutely right. So the shadow minister used to support an internationally linked scheme.

I understand it now appears to the opposition that it best suits their fear campaign to be out there saying, 'Ergh, shouldn't trade with foreigners!' I do not know whether they sit with Rio Tinto and say that we should not sell them resources or whether they sit with BHP and Rio Tinto and say, 'Let's not sell them coal or iron ore.' I do not know if they go to Toyota, Holden or any of those companies and say, 'Let's not export the cars that we make.' I do not know if they sit in the boardrooms of law firms—

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

Mr Speaker, a point of order on a simple question of relevance: the question asked whether or not there would be $3½ billion spent on foreign carbon permits in 2020 and $57 billion in 2050.

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

The member for Flinders will resume his seat. The Prime Minister is responding to the question.

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

We are a great trading nation and I understand that the opposition now are engaged in a lot of populist nonsense. For example, we have seen them bring forward a bill which would take us outside of the global trading order with the consequence of retaliatory trade attacks. Somehow they are going to try and justify this to the Australian people. We know that, if we are outside the global rules based trading system and the subject of retaliatory attack, all that will mean is lost jobs for Australians. Now, in the climate change area, they are going down the same path. Yes, it is an internationally linked scheme, because that is the lowest cost abatement for the Australian economy and we want to make sure we transform our economy at the lowest cost. Because you have determined not to have an internationally linked scheme, your already excessively costly polluters subsidy policy has moved from a per household cost —

Opposition members interjecting—

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

The member for Tangney is warned!

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

of $720 a year to a per household cost of $1,300 a year. We will do it in the most economically responsible way. It really amazes me that they can get the shadow minister to get up and ask these questions. It just goes to show how now throughout the opposition they have all succumbed to the Leader of the Opposition's culture that you will do or say anything in order to try and get political advantage, even if you said directly the opposite thing yesterday. I refer to the shadow minister's statements at a press conference of 10 July 2011:

I’ll just make a brief point. Our emissions reduction fund is a very simple proposition. We will purchase the lowest cost abatement wherever it may occur …

In his National Press Club speech of 10 February 2010 he said:

… a tonne of carbon is a tonne of carbon. And that is all the planet knows.

That was said by the shadow minister. Never was a truer word spoken.