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

What is his name? Ross Garnaut. Given the fiasco of Copenhagen, you would have thought that Labor would have at least put their flawed scheme on hold. Pride, arrogance—whatever it is—will not allow Labor to be mugged by the reality or the will of the Australian people, and so on they trudge supporting the indefensible. I know a number of people who did support the ETS last year on the basis of the expectation that Copenhagen would deliver workable outcomes. These same people are now saying, ‘Thank goodness Australia was saved from the madness of going before Copenhagen,’ and of course they are thanking the coalition for that situation.

Because we have rejected Labor’s flawed, big new tax on everything, Labor simply take the lazy approach. They do not defend their policy position; they just seek to attack us. But those tactics will not wash, especially now that the coalition has a sustainable, effective and practical plan for direct action—an action plan that will reduce our carbon emissions, increase our land’s fertility, increase the efficiency of energy transmission, increase the productivity of our farmlands and allow all Australians to make a practical contribution to reducing CO2 emissions. All that and more is achievable through the coalition’s leadership, vision and fresh thinking.

Our $2.5 billion emissions reduction fund will provide business with a direct financial incentive to reduce their CO2 emissions. The fund will provide incentives for the oldest and most inefficient power stations to reduce emissions in an orderly manner which protects jobs and gives certainty of power supplies. The Greens would shut them down overnight, without a care for workers or consumers. Labor’s ETS would simply let the rot set in and let them die the death of a thousand cuts. One thing at least that you can say for the Greens’ policy is that it would be more humane; it would be a quick execution.

We have a clear path forward—a path which allows a transition, thereby protecting jobs, protecting power supplies and protecting investments. We have a plan to replenish our soils. We have a plan for one million additional solar energy roofs. What clear, innovative thinking to harness two natural assets that Australia has been blessed with in adundance—soil and sunshine. The coalition will use our natural advantages of soil and sun to drive our initiatives. And, yes, there is more. We will support innovation with $50 million for geothermal and tidal power initiatives. We will commit to putting those ugly and inefficient high-voltage powerlines underground, making them transfer power more efficiently and converting the scars to green corridors—carbon sinks. That clearly is a win-win for energy and for the environment. This is all about real, practical, effective, direct, common-sense action, which the coalition can and will deliver. On the other hand, under Labor, the Australian people can have an expensive, ineffective, great big tax on everything, with no environmental dividend.

I want to make the point that there is no environmental dividend under Labor’s proposed ETS. Because, in the absence of world action—in the absence of the world coming together, given the failure of Copenhagen—under Labor’s proposal our clean zinc producers, for example, in my home state of Tasmania, who produce about two tonnes of CO2 for one tonne of zinc produced will be outpriced on world markets by zinc produced in China that emits six tonnes of CO2 per tonne of zinc produced. Under Labor, we would be mugging Australian jobs and the Australian economy, and the actual environmental outcome for the world would be worse. Given the circumstances that we have a positive action plan and Labor’s policy is fatally flawed, what do Labor do? They pathetically describe our policy as ‘uncosted’. That is false. It is fully costed and the details have been put out publicly.

They then inflate the costs—once again, false. The numbers are there for all to see, with the backing of Frontier Economics. Then they descend into name calling, saying that it is a con job. The Australian people expect better from the Rudd government. After only two years in government, they have become tired and bereft of a vision. Under Tony Abbott, the Australian people have seen a new visionary coalition that will deliver for the economy, for jobs and for climate change.