Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Climate Change and Water) Share this | Hansard source

I am very pleased to answer this question because, of course, the government did release the largest economic-modelling exercise that has been undertaken in Australia’s history, which confirmed yet again that it is in Australia’s economic interests to act on climate change. It is the case that, if you look at these economic-modelling results, Australia maintains strong economic growth as well as achieving its emission reduction targets in all of the four scenarios modelled. The price that is paid is that we grow one-tenth of one per cent per year slower as a result of putting a price on emissions, whilst gross national product continues to rise. It is very clear that from 2010 to 2050 Australia’s real GNP per capita will continue to grow under the scenarios at a rate of 1.1 per cent.

What I find interesting is that Senator Birmingham, who I understood lined up with Mr Hunt in terms of the anti-sceptic, pro-sceptic position of the other side, is still running the line that Senator Minchin and others run: ‘Let’s poke here; let’s criticise here.’ The fact is this: the government modelled a range of scenarios, two of which were Professor Garnaut’s scenarios and two of which were scenarios that the government put into place to gain a good understanding of the range of options that are available to government in designing this policy. I want to emphasise to those opposite—and Senator Birmingham, who I think was very supportive of the former Treasurer, might like to know this—that this is modelling undertaken by the same department and the same team that undertook the modelling for the Intergenerational report that Mr Costello used to trumpet so much. Mr Costello, perhaps in his memoirs or in one of his other speeches, made clear it was one of his great contributions to the debate.

The fact is that we have always said that climate change is a global problem which requires a global solution. I have often said it is not a question of whether we need a global agreement; it is a question of how we get a global agreement. So, of course, what the government modelled is exactly what the government are working towards with a range of different assumptions, because we understand that this is a global problem. We need to be part of the solution here in Australia. That is what this government is determined to do.

What is interesting is the varying positions of those on the other side. We have Senator Minchin, who does not believe that climate change is real, backed by Senator Bernardi—and he knows I am about to go to him as he is nodding his head—