Mike Freelander (Macarthur, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Treasurer. Why are the Albanese Labor government's climate change policies part of the government's economic plan, and are there any barriers to their progress?

Jim Chalmers (Rankin, Australian Labor Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you to the wonderful member for his question. He understands, just like we all understand on this side of the House, that good climate change policy is good economic policy. That's because we understand that the future of this economy will be increasingly powered by cleaner, cheaper, more reliable and increasingly renewable energy. We understand that. We also understand that, for too long in this country, the opportunities of an economy powered by that cleaner and cheaper energy have gone begging while we've had this ridiculous war over climate change policy, which we want to bring to an end. We're doing that—we want to bring that climate change war to an end—because we understand that the economic imperative for acting on climate change is great, and that's why cleaner and cheaper energy is such a central part of our economic plan. It's why we legislated our emissions reduction target. I pay tribute to the minister. It's why we're progressing our Powering Australia plan and the Powering the Regions Fund. It's why we've got an agenda for climate risk disclosure and sustainable finance as well, and it's why we are determined to deliver a safeguard mechanism, so that we can end the policy uncertainty, provide a credible pathway to net zero and give business and industry the confidence that they tell us that they need to invest.

Making this transition is absolutely crucial for the future of our economy, for creating new jobs in new industries but also for leveraging our traditional economic strengths and for providing that investment certainty. That's why the business community, as the Prime Minister said a moment ago, and Australia's big employers are begging this parliament to support the passage of the safeguards legislation. The Business Council have done a heap of work, including this great report in 2021, and we commend them for it. They told this parliament to get on with it. The chamber of commerce have said that, for the sake of certainty, this must pass the parliament. The Australian Industry Group say that it is strongly in everyone's interest to pass it, and they are right: it is in everyone's interest. For the future of our economy and our climate and our country, it's incumbent on every member of this parliament to set aside self-interest and act in the national interest and pass the safeguards legislation.

By standing in the way of this progress, the Leader of the Opposition is standing in the way of investment, industry and jobs. He is showing himself to be a more destructive version of Tony Abbott and a more divisive version of the member for Cook. Nothing would make those opposite happier than to waste another decade bluing about climate change policy while the economic opportunities go begging. We have a plan for climate change because we want to make that a central part of our economic plan as well. For too long Australians have paid too hefty a price for the failures of those opposite to get behind sensible policy, like the safeguard mechanism, in the interests of our economy.