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

My question is to the Prime Minister: Why did it take the threat of being humiliated at an international climate conference for the Prime Minister to commit to net zero? Weren't the bushfires enough?

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

Only this Leader of the Opposition would seek to politicise the bushfires. That reflects on him. The COP26 date was set very clearly, and methodically over the course of the year the government has worked to come together to enable us to confirm the policy which enables me this evening to head, firstly, to the G20 and then to the COP26 in Glasgow and be very clear that Australia's nationally determined contribution is that we have a target of net zero emissions by 2050.

In addition, we will be able to update our nationally determined contribution to indicate that our target of 26 per cent to 28 per cent emissions reduction by 2030 will indeed be exceeded and we will see a 35 per cent reduction in emissions. This is what Australia is achieving. Already we have seen a 20.8 per cent reduction in emissions, which exceeds the performance of the United States, of Canada, of New Zealand and of Japan. Australia is getting this job done. What our performance has demonstrated, be that the highest rate of rooftop solar uptake in the world or record levels of the installation of renewable energy—in one year there have been more installations of renewable energy in this country than in six years of the Labor government—is that, at the same time as achieving these targets, over that same period of time, we've seen a 45 per cent increase in the size of our economy.

Interestingly, when you look at the time that we have been in government, the CPI figures yesterday showed that electricity prices under our government went up by three per cent. Over the Labor Party's period of time, they went up by 101 per cent. So, under Labor, your electricity prices are higher, your taxes are higher and your emissions were higher as well. Under our government we have been getting emissions down, we have been keeping electricity prices down and we have been getting the number of jobs up. We now have a million people in manufacturing jobs. Under Labor, one in eight manufacturing jobs were gone, because of the economy-destroying policies of the Labor Party when they were last in government.

I know that our government can stand up for Australia, to protect our interests and to have an Australian plan that is done in Australia's interests to deal with Australia's economy. That's what we have been doing. We have the strength to pursue that plan and bring the country together and pursue that target that we've set. Those opposite don't have the strength to do that. (Time expired)