Dana Wortley (SA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

My question is to Senator Abetz, the Minister representing the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources. I refer the minister to briefing notes provided to the APEC finance ministers meeting in Coolum, which said about climate change:

To complement market-based mechanisms, there is also a role for regulation and direct government intervention to assist in the development of low-emission technologies.

Don’t leading business groups support this view? Hasn’t the Australian Business Roundtable on Climate Change expressed support for policies that actively encourage the development of renewable energy technologies? Why is the Howard government ignoring business by calling for state-based targets to be abolished and why is the government refusing to increase the mandatory renewable energy target from the current pathetic two per cent level?