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

I think the lack of clarity is as a result of the actions of the opposition in this chamber. Those actions have added to uncertainty over a number of years—most recently since June, from which time you have delayed this debate for months. You delayed it in June. You engaged in procedural games so you did not have to vote on it. You then voted it down in August. What you have been engaging in since it came back into the chamber is the same delay. I do not think anybody is under any illusions. That is fine; you will be held accountable for that political strategy. I disagree with it. I think it is an abrogation of responsibility, but that is your strategy—you can defend it. If there is uncertainty about this policy area, it is not because the government has not been trying to provide certainty. It is because the opposition—which believed it was in the national interest to act on this issue and believed it was in the national interest to pass this bill—is currently engaging in a round of internal division because they do not want to take action on climate change.