Michaelia Cash (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That the Senate take note of the answers given by the Minister for Climate Change and Water (Senator Wong) to questions without notice asked by Senators Cash and Colbeck today relating to the emissions trading scheme and to water management of the Clyde River, Tasmania.

Only a short time ago I came to this place and asked what additional evidence the government requires before it will take responsibility and acknowledge that its proposed ETS is not only seriously flawed but, if the government does not listen to the concerns of industry and does not take into account the current global financial crisis, it will have a severe impact on all Australians. I implored those on the other side of the chamber not to put at risk thousands of Australian jobs and billions of dollars of capital investment in the resources sector and the energy sector because of their reckless approach to implementing an ETS. Australia and Australians deserve better.

And what do we have today? We finally have members of the government who have seen the light and confirmed that the coalition’s long-held position of responsible action when addressing climate change is actually correct. The penny is finally dropping for everyone on the Labor side except Minister Wong. I was pleased to read today in the Sydney Morning Herald that there are members on the government side who have adopted the coalition’s stance: that we need to take responsible and economically conservative action on climate change.