Mark Butler (Port Adelaide, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Environment, Climate Change and Water) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister stated earlier in question time today that the only thing that matters in climate change policy is: is it going to cut emissions? In March the Department of the Environment found that by 2020 emissions will be 20 per cent higher than they were at the time this Liberal government was elected. So, why is the Prime Minister sticking with the discredited Direct Action policy?

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

The honourable member makes that assertion, and it is utterly rejected. The premise that emissions are—

Mr Dreyfus interjecting—

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

The member for Isaacs will cease interjecting.

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

increasing is simply incorrect, and I will invite the environment minister to explain in further detail why that is the case.

Greg Hunt (Flinders, Liberal Party, Minister for the Environment) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Once again, I would love to thank the member for Port Adelaide, but, sadly, he keeps avoiding. Let me start with a very simple explanation. The Department of the Environment recently released figures that showed that Australia's latest quarterly emissions were the lowest since 2004, in not just trend but also seasonal terms. Let me repeat that: the lowest emissions since 2004 in both trend and seasonal terms. Beyond that, let me say this: as we said—

Mr Thistlethwaite interjecting—

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

The member for Kingsford Smith!

Greg Hunt (Flinders, Liberal Party, Minister for the Environment) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

when the target of minus 26 to minus 28 per cent was announced—

Mr Thistlethwaite interjecting—

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

The member for Kingsford Smith is warned!

Greg Hunt (Flinders, Liberal Party, Minister for the Environment) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

there is no doubt now that we will achieve our 2020 targets. That is now a done deal. We will achieve our minus five per cent, or the equivalent of minus 13 per cent from 2005 to 2020, and we will do it without higher electricity prices, without a tax on small businesses and without a tax on families. That is now an accepted fact. We have already seen that the conservative figures we put out then did not include the Emissions Reduction Fund auction—an auction that was more than five times as successful as the estimates of the firm they cited with great gusto yesterday. We achieved more than five times what was the best possible estimate of their favoured modeller.

So our emissions are lower. We have had the lowest emissions since 2004, in trend and seasonal terms. We achieved five times the emissions reduction that was predicted by their favoured modeller, at a fraction of the cost, and we are doing this without an electricity tax. So as we go forward, we will achieve 2020 emissions, we will achieve 2030 emissions targets. There is a choice in this country: two roads. One is a path of higher emissions with higher electricity prices. The other one is lower emissions with lower electricity prices. We make no apologies for the fact that when we said we would reduce the cost of living we did, and that means there can be more jobs and we allow Australia to be more productive. We are achieving our targets. We are doing it and, as we said only a few weeks ago, we will do it on time, on budget and without increasing electricity prices.

Mark Butler (Port Adelaide, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Environment, Climate Change and Water) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I seek leave to table the department's emissions projections, which show that in 2013 emissions were—

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

Is leave granted? Leave is not granted. The member does not have the call.