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

I rise to speak on a motion which is essentially about ensuring that the opposition do not get to debate the CPRS; that is what it is about. Senator Fielding, I will take up your challenge to consider good governance and I make this point to you: the government have been clear for months now that we would be debating the CPRS in the June sittings. You may wish to make that assertion because you do not support the bill or because you agree with other aspects of what the opposition say. But it is incorrect to say that the government is simply whacking it through. This is major legislation that the government has been upfront about in saying it would be debated in the June sittings. It has been listed for the June sittings and is the first item for debate in this week of the June sittings. So there is no element of surprise.

I think it is important to remind the chamber of the facts of how we got to this point. Let us just remember where we have been. This has been one of the most considered and scrutinised areas of public policy that this chamber has had to deal with. We have had extensive discussion—I think my office counted, just on climate change matters alone, some 13 inquiries by the parliament in the last year. Let us remember what happened—