Bill Shorten (Maribyrnong, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. In 2010, the current Prime Minister said:

I think people know what I stand for. You know they know that I have strong convictions, committed principles and I'm prepared to stand up for them.

Given that, just in the last 24 hours, the Prime Minister has sold out on climate change, marriage equality, renewable energy and the Murray-Darling, what other government policy is the Prime Minister willing to sell out to appease his personal ambition?

Mr Pyne interjecting—

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Leader of the House will cease interjecting.

Malcolm Turnbull (Wentworth, Liberal Party, Minister for Communications) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Few people know more about selling out than the Leader of the Opposition, I must say. But again the Leader of the Opposition consistently confuses the means and processes with the objective. I support marriage equality. Many of my colleagues do not. Many of the Leader of the Opposition's colleagues do not. That is the substantive issue.

Ms Butler interjecting—

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Griffith has been warned twice.

Malcolm Turnbull (Wentworth, Liberal Party, Minister for Communications) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The question of how to resolve the matter—whether it is a free vote or a plebiscite—is a question of process. Each approach has its advantages. One, I suppose, is faster and costs less.

Ms O'Neil interjecting—

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Hotham will leave under 94(a). She has been warned twice.

Malcolm Turnbull (Wentworth, Liberal Party, Minister for Communications) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The other one gives every Australian a say, and it has a cost. Democracy has a price.

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Hotham will leave. No, not the member for Wakefield—the member for Hotham.

The member for Hotham then left the chamber.

Malcolm Turnbull (Wentworth, Liberal Party, Minister for Communications) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Giving everybody a say on an important issue is surely a very legitimate and reasonable approach, and the Leader of the Opposition objects to that. He talks about climate change. The objective in climate policy is to cut your emissions. It is to cut your emissions.

Mr Thistlethwaite interjecting—

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Kingsford Smith is warned.

Malcolm Turnbull (Wentworth, Liberal Party, Minister for Communications) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

There are many methods of doing so: an emissions trading scheme, regulation, the Emissions Reduction Fund, a carbon tax and many, many others. Many other techniques can achieve the same end. And so the judgement for policymakers is what is the best model—what is the best approach—in the circumstances of the time. We have chosen as a government, thanks to the hard work of the environment minister, to use an Emissions Reduction Fund. He has demonstrated that it is cutting emissions at a very low cost, and this so upsets the opposition that they are now forgetting that climate policy is about cutting emissions and thinking that the goal is an emissions trading scheme. Of course I have supported an emissions trading scheme in the past. So did my party. So did John Howard. It is a technique. But we have changed our policy. The critical question is: what is our goal? Our goal is cutting emissions. We are doing that. We are doing that in the manner that we believe is least cost, and so far the work of the Minister for the Environment is demonstrating that that judgement is correct.