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

The answer to that is no. I say to Senator Parry that we put out a green paper in July. Since that time, my department and I, as well as other ministers, have been engaged in a very constructive consultation with very many Australian businesses about the detailed propositions in the green paper. We have had an ongoing and constructive engagement with Nyrstar. We have made it very clear that the detailed propositions put out in the green paper were put out precisely to enable the sort of constructive consultation we have had. I was aware of this press release from yesterday, and I make the point that this particular company is urging the government to make changes to the design of the ETS—in particular, to the design of the transitional systems that it is proposed be provided to the emissions-intensive trade-exposed sector. That is what the company has put to the government.

There have been a range of views put to the government, frankly, from both sides of the fence about how to handle the emissions-intensive trade-exposed industries. The government is committed to closely consulting with industry because we understand very much the importance of ensuring that we get the most appropriate design for the emissions trading scheme, the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme, that we are able. That is why the government is undertaking these consultations. That is why the government put out such a detailed set of propositions in the green paper. We will continue to have a constructive engagement with business on these issues. I still await, of course, the opposition’s clarification about what their position is—