Rod Kemp (Victoria, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Not to you, Senator Conroy; I rarely listen to your remarks. But Senator Wortley and Senator Lundy are capable of making careful and thoughtful speeches. I wonder why neither of them said, ‘We are not supporting this bill’—and they are not. I wonder why neither of them came in and made it crystal clear what Labor’s policies were? Could it be that they were ducking the issue? Could it be that they were playing politics? The answer, of course, is yes. They are under strict orders from Peter Garrett to say absolutely nothing.

I must say, Senator Wortley, one of the saddest things to be said of the Labor policy—such as it is and inadequate as it is—is that, after 11 years in opposition, the Labor Party greenhouse policy is to have a summit. I can honestly say, Senator Wortley, that that is a pathetic effort. The one thing I agreed with Senator Brown on was his comment in this regard.

Quite rightly, Senator Wortley did not speak of the record of the Keating-Hawke government in this area; of course she did not, because they have no record. There is no commitment. All of us know that the Labor Party have serious difficulties in this area. What an astonishing thing that Senator Wortley is sent in to discuss support for the coal industry while we are debating Senator Milne’s bill! This government is supportive of the coal industry but not so the Labor Party.

Peter Garrett was sat on. This is the high-profile shadow environment minister who was fast-tracked to the front bench and whose main aim, which was to attempt to shut down elements of the coal industry, failed—or at least up to the election period. The Labor Party is bitterly divided on this, and I would be interested to hear Senator George Campbell’s views on this issue. You can say what you like about Senator George Campbell but he is a man who is proud of the workers and a man who will stand up for the coal industry. I would be very keen to listen to a debate between Senator George Campbell and Mr Peter Garrett on this issue. I suspect that would illustrate very nicely the massive divisions in the Labor ranks.

Let me turn to a couple of remarks that have been made in the course of the debate. I congratulate Senator Eggleston for outlining in great detail the government’s magnificent record in this area. I will not go through the list he put forward to the chamber, but he outlined the seriousness with which the government takes the climate change challenge. He outlined carefully some of the very important initiatives that the government has taken. I listened to Senator Milne’s debate because I was coming into the chamber to debate this. I agreed with Senator Milne on one thing: Senator Milne said that the government will be meeting the Kyoto target—