Josh Burns (Macnamara, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. Given the Prime Minister now supports Labor's policy on net zero, will he also support Labor's policy for a discount on electric cars which will make electric cars cheaper for Australian families?

Scott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I don't support Labor's policy. They don't have one. There's nothing to support. They got a target, but they've got no plan. The only things we can discern from their policies is what they did last time they were in government, which was tax people. They sought to tax people. They sought to mandate things. They sought to force them to do things. So, no, I won't be supporting the Labor Party's policy, because not only don't I know what it is, the Australian people don't know what it is. They know what their target is.

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

The Leader of the Opposition on a point of order?

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Yes, on relevance. It was a very specific question about Labor's electric vehicles discount.

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

Leader of the Opposition: you need to resume your seat. I'm going to go back to where I did yesterday and—

A government member interjecting

The minister for—yes, it's okay. I'd just stop right there. I'm going to be very clear about this. It was not a specific question about electric cars. If that's all that was asked, you would have a valid point of order, but when you have on it a tag line that's about support for Labor's policies it opens the question right up.

Yes, that's right. I don't want to have an argument. I've got a copy of it in front of me. I don't want to read the question again: 'Given you now support Labor's policy on net zero.' The Prime Minister is entitled to respond to that. If you don't want him to do that, don't put it in the question. Just ask a specific question about electric vehicles. You didn't ask that. The Prime Minister has the call. He's completely in order.

Scott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Our policies are very clear about what we're seeking to do. We've set them out in a 130-or-thereabouts-page document, which I was happy to table earlier during question time.

I'm not surprised that the Labor Party doesn't support our policy, because you won't find any taxes in it. You won't find anything in there telling people what they have to do and what they're mandating. You won't find in there anyone banning anything or anyone trying to shut down any mines or tell farmers what to do on their land. You won't find any additional regulation in our policy. That's why Labor doesn't like it. You won't find any more red tape. You won't find anyone in there trying to get into people's lives and intervene in how they run their businesses. You won't find anything in this document which is seeking to punish rural and regional Australia, which is what would happen under the Labor Party, and you won't find in our policies contracting out the decisions that should be made about Australians, about the Australian way that will achieve these targets to those overseas, because that's what the Labor Party does. Under our policy we've got an Australian way to hit net zero emissions by 2050 that is based on technology, not taxes, that is based on choices, not mandates on the Australian people, binding them with legislation—sorry, I thought he was up again. He's been very lippy today.

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

No. Prime Minister, you can just answer the question. You don't have to comment on people moving around the chamber.

Scott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It's also based on having a portfolio of technologies that get the job done. It's based on getting the right balance between the affordability of our energy and the reliability of energy so we keep the lights on and we get the prices down. It's based on transparency and accountability, not just emissions, and the transparency of getting emissions down but ensuring that our policies demonstrate the economic gains and the socioeconomic gains for all Australians, but particularly in rural and regional areas. I'm not surprised the Labor Party doesn't support our plan. They don't have a plan. They don't have a target for 2030. They don't like it, because it hasn't got taxes in it, because that's the way Labor does things.