Stephen Jones (Whitlam, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

In a few days time the Prime Minister is going to head to the climate change conference in Scotland. When he gets there there'll be nothing under his kilt, because after eight years of stoking the politics of climate change denial it has suddenly dawned on him that the world is racing ahead of us and that there is an economic price to be paid in lost jobs, lost income and lost trade from their eight years of inaction. Eight years of coalition infighting have led to 20 separate energy policies, none of which have been implemented, because their own MPs blew them up before they got out the gate.

We had great expectations that something would be announced yesterday, but we got nothing. Instead, we got a PowerPoint presentation that specifically states they have no new ideas. He calls it 'the Australian way'. I've got a tip for the Prime Minister. If you call a press conference to make a big announcement and don't make one, most Australians will call you a drongo. Everything you need to know about their announcement can be explained by this: they are putting all their energy into telling you what they won't do and nothing into telling you what they will do. (Time expired)