Eric Abetz (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

The Senate is currently considering the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme or an emissions trading scheme. There is no doubt that the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme Bill 2009 will have significant ramifications. It will be the biggest change to our economy ever driven by deliberate government policy. There will be literally tens of billions of dollars worth of churn, and by that I mean the collection and redistribution of tens of billions of dollars in the Australian economy—and all undertaken by the government. This legislation will impact on every single grocery bill in this country. It will impact on every single power bill in this country. It will impact every single Australian. It is therefore absolutely vital that we examine this legislation very thoroughly and not rush it. It is therefore vital that we have free and open examination of the legislation, and if one undertakes that examination one realises the huge and fatal flaws within it; flaws that make it unacceptable to the coalition. But first let me briefly, wearing my hat as shadow science minister, make a few comments about the science.

I have engaged with scientists on, as most people would say, both sides of the debate. Can I say that to summarise the debate as only having two sides is not to understand it; I would say, with scientists on all sides of the debate, because there are very many nuances, very many differences of opinion, even amongst those that have similar beliefs. So all I would say is that science in the past has welcomed, and should continue to welcome, scepticism. It should welcome questioning. It should welcome probing. Can I simply say that I believe there are good men and women on all sides of the scientific debate that are highly qualified and I do not seek to denigrate them because I accept that they hold their views very genuinely.

But can I say this: Labor’s response to those that question some of the scientific paradigms has been shrill, extreme and doctrinaire. Their approach has been so scientifically rigorous, so intellectually robust as to label these people that ask questions as deniers! Can I say to the minister and the Labor government: to do so has not endeared them to the Australian people, and that is why I think there is some flagging support for the approach that the government have been taking. It is an immature, churlish and arrogant approach. This government does not accept any alternatives whatsoever. The coal industry itself was menaced by Mr Combet. And of course we all remember that, after Senator Wong’s debacle of the draft legislation, Minister Combet was brought in and he then had to introduce the actual legislation into the House to avoid the embarrassment for Senator Wong of having to show all the mistakes that had been in her original draft legislation.

There is within this country a regrettable culture of fear. We know how the Prime Minister acts if he does not get his hair dryer or his favourite snack on the VIP flight. Guess how he behaves when somebody dares to question the impact of his Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme on their job or on their industry! So there is, unfortunately, this culture of fear.

Can I say in relation to Senator Fielding and others who want to engage in the question of the science—is it true; is it not true?—that I have drawn a line under all that discussion. I have just asked a very simple question: does this legislation deliver that which it aspires to deliver or says it will deliver? The fundamental answer, on any analysis, is a big resounding no. So you do not even have to engage in that very interesting discussion that Senator Fielding engaged in to say that this legislation is fatally flawed and deserves to be defeated. Why do I say that? Well, there are real problems for those involved in the coal industry. I confess I am not that concerned about the industry per se as much as I am about the workers that get their livelihood and sustain their families from the jobs that that industry and other industries provide. You can go through the coal sector, the aluminium sector, the pulp and paper sector, the cement sector, food manufacturing—and the list goes on.

But also, very interestingly, it will impact negatively on the recycling sector, something that every Australian is now actively engaged in. They believe that by being engaged in recycling they are making their own personal contribution to the world environment. I am sure all honourable senators got the letter from the Visy on 24 July saying the government’s proposed Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme ‘will seriously disadvantaged recycling and leave the jobs and the recycling companies high and dry’. As they say, ‘... recycling is the simplest way Australians can reduce their carbon footprint, and 96 per cent of them already do it.’ So it is not very well thought out when recycling companies come to us with this sort of message.

But of course that is not the only area where people are seeking to make a difference for the benefit of the environment. Solar panels—what has the government done on that?