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

One of the things that those who oppose action on climate change conveniently gloss over is the fact that many Australian business leaders have called for action on climate change and have called for certainty. Last week Heather Ridout wrote:

It is time for the government and the opposition to ... bring this exhausting game to a conclusion so Australia can get on with the real business of reducing emissions while maintaining our prosperity.

Just today, the Managing Director of Origin Energy, Grant King, has made it clear that a lack of certainty is having a serious impact on investment. He said:

An emissions trading scheme is the lowest cost, most flexible mechanism for driving the necessary change in the operation of existing assets, informing capital investment decisions for new assets and stimulating development in new technologies necessary to meet the long term challenge of climate change.

Those are not the government’s words; they are the words of a senior Australian businessman. (Time expired)