Eric Abetz (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Minister for Fisheries, Forestry and Conservation) Share this | Hansard source

and that we did not take the issue seriously. Of course we did. Might I add, we set this office up during a time when we were under severe financial pressure in trying to make the budget balance because of the profligacy of the Australian Labor Party. Let us not forget that a $96 billion debt was left to us and a $10.3 billion recurrent deficit was left to us when we came to government. Despite those economic imperatives, we saw the environmental imperative of establishing the Australian Greenhouse Office. Of course, we did that with the support of the Prime Minister, with the support of the cabinet and, I would have hoped, although the Labor Party undoubtedly did not realise it, with the support of this parliament.

To come into this place today, nine years after the event, and claim that you are somehow the champion of dealing with greenhouse issues—