Annette Hurley (SA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

The agricultural rump of the party has just spoken and delivered typical arguments that rely on outright inaccuracies and wild hypothetical imaginings in order to concoct an argument against doing something about climate change regardless of the concrete fact that climate change is, and has been for some time, affecting the agricultural industry more than most industries in this nation and that primary industries need to do something effective about climate change in this country. Their representatives are here in this parliament arguing wildly and improbably about what we should do about it instead of what most far-sighted people in primary industry have been doing for many, many decades over all sorts of changes, which is looking at the facts, looking at how the primary industries sector may deal with those facts and presenting them in an effective manner while being prepared to compromise. That is what primary industry needs, not the flights of fancy that we hear from Senator Heffernan and Senator Joyce.

As Senator Wong explained, the fact of the matter is that the agricultural sector is not included in the emissions trading scheme. The facts and figures cited by Senator Joyce about beef emissions may or may not be factored into what we achieve when and if the agricultural sector comes into the emissions trading scheme. But rather than addressing in an effective way what we have before us—