Cory Bernardi (SA, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Senator Wong and the Prime Minister think you should be happy for them, because the CPRS has a very real prospect of making a lot of money for the lawyers, the consultants and the merchant bankers. They are going to have to advise the businesses, the companies, the executives et cetera, and interpret the confusing and complex laws surrounding this scheme. If a majority of Australians have no idea what a CPRS is, or does, or how it works, or how it is going to affect the climate, then they are certainly going to need a bevy of lawyers to explain it to them. Investment bankers will make billions upon billions of dollars, at taxpayers’ expense, by manipulating the market for carbon permits. Do not take my word for it. The billionaire, leftist, green advocate, George Soros, said at a London School of Economics seminar:

The system can be gamed; that’s why financial types like me like it—because there are financial opportunities.

This CPRS runs against every principle that I hold dear and that inspired me to get involved in politics: support for smaller government, lower taxes, support for families, encouragement of free enterprise, an orderly society and reward for effort. These are the very principles upon which my party was built and to which I fully subscribe. The Rudd government’s CPRS violates all of these principles, and no-one who is strongly committed to these key values can seriously consider supporting this Labor government scheme. I am amazed that anyone can seriously support this scheme. The CPRS will change the way our country operates. It will affect every single one of us—and for what? For no environmental benefit whatsoever. That is the crux of all of this. Why would we put ourselves through this pain when it will not make any meaningful difference to the climate? A CPRS simply offers no meaningful benefits but will impose very real, huge costs.

Of course, we all want to work towards conserving our natural resources and our natural environment. We want to have a sustainable way of life and a sustainable approach to our land, and there are many ways in which we can successfully do that. But the CPRS simply is not one of them. Let me reiterate: the CPRS will impose higher costs on everyone for everything. It will cost Australian jobs and damage Australian industry and the economy, and it will not achieve its aim of reducing carbon emissions. It will not make a jot of difference to the climate. So why are we doing it? This is not in the best interests of Australians or Australia. I will not compromise on my commitment to the core Liberal Party philosophies to which I subscribe. I will stand against big government, I will continue to advocate for lower taxation, I will fight for the interests of families and I will foster free enterprise. Accordingly, I will vote against this despicable Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme.