Chris Evans (WA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

Again it is a political question to try and justify the political posturing of the Liberal Party: isn’t it all about the Greens? No, it is all about climate change. It is all about public policy. It is all about the things that John Howard took seriously and you no longer take seriously because you have made yourselves totally irrelevant to the political debate. You have nothing to say of any seriousness about these issues. This government is trying to pass, through this legislation, a serious response to climate change that puts a price on carbon. We encourage all members of parliament to engage in that serious public policy debate, but the Liberal-National Party have written themselves out of that. They have put themselves on the sidelines—shouting, ranting and name calling but offering nothing; totally irrelevant. This government will work with those members of parliament who are prepared to engage in a serious debate about a serious issue.