Bob Brown (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

The interjecting former leader of the National Party in the Senate comes to the defence of BlueScope Steel, which does not want to pay for the pollution that it produces. Here we get to the nub of the matter: the Abbott opposition’s decision that it will give polluters the right to continue to pollute at no cost while it puts all the cost across onto average households, consumers and small businesses in Australia. You cannot have it both ways.

I did agree with Senator Abetz when he said that most Australians are prepared to suffer a bit of an economic loss if there is to be an environmental gain. What we are trying to do in this great parliament of ours is maturely move towards a carbon price, which this opposition has agreed should be implemented.