Zaneta Mascarenhas (Swan, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Treasurer. Why is the safeguard mechanism the preferred model for business and investors?

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

Thank you to the member for Swan for her characteristically considered contribution to the debate on the safeguard mechanism today, which draws on her deep experience in the private sector before the good people of Swan, in their wisdom, sent her here to work with us in this place. The safeguard mechanism is all about cleaner, cheaper, more reliable and increasingly renewable energy, which is all about creating new jobs and new industries at the same time as we maximise our areas of traditional economic strength.

For too long in this country, big employers and investors haven't had the certainty that they need to invest in cleaner and cheaper energy, which will power the future of our economy and power future prosperity as well. The energy transition is absolutely critical to the future of our economy. That's something that we recognise, that the member for Swan certainly recognises and that the business community recognises as well. That's why it beggars belief that those opposite—the so-called 'party of business', as the member for Parramatta said a moment ago—are voting against their own safeguard mechanism for base political reasons. They do this in the face of overwhelming—

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! The Treasurer will resume his seat.

Ms Catherine King (Ballarat, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Really?

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The minister for infrastructure will cease interjecting, and so will the minister for climate change, so that I can hear from the Manager of Opposition Business.

Paul Fletcher (Bradfield, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Government Services and the Digital Economy) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, I rise on a point of order. The question was: 'Why is the safeguard mechanism the preferred model for business and investors?' I'll give credit that it's a tight question, but there was no reference to the opposition and no reference to alternative policies. The Treasurer should be brought back to the question.

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Treasurer is halfway through his answer. I ask him to return to the question.

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

Australia's business community, including the biggest employers in this country, support the safeguard mechanism. In today's Financial Review, the president of the Business Council urges the parliament to support the legislation. He says, 'The safeguard mechanism is the best shot that we've got for providing the certainty that business and investors need.' In the same article, Origin Energy chief executive, Frank Calabria, says, 'It's a mechanism that industry can work with, and it does create certainty.' Andrew McKellar of ACCI says, 'We are strongly urging that there is a bipartisan approach on this and that we get a reasonable outcome that will encourage investment.' Innes Willox of Ai Group says that it is essential policy infrastructure. The Ai Group's Tennant Reed says it is greatly desirable for the bill to pass.

Business is urging this Leader of the Opposition and the coalition to back the safeguard mechanism in this parliament. It's not an unreasonable request, given it is the former government's policy in the first place. For too long in this country, the opportunities of cheaper, cleaner and reliable energy have gone begging in our economy because of the pig-headed approach of those opposite and all of the investment uncertainty and policy uncertainty that that has created. This Leader of the Opposition is proving that he is more negative than Tony Abbott and more divisive than the member for Cook. He's showing that all of them are willing to trash the reputation of those opposite as being the 'party of business'. If those opposite vote against this legislation, they are voting against cleaner and cheaper energy and the future prosperity that— (Time expired)