Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Finance and Deregulation) Share this | Hansard source

I think I get the gist of the question. I am sure the superannuation funds that the senator mentioned have investments in a great many companies. One of those companies might, for example, be BHP Billiton. The senator might like to recall what the CEO of that company said in relation to the introduction of a carbon price. Mr Kloppers stated:

… we do believe that such a global initiative will eventually come and … when it does come Australia will have needed to act ahead of it coming in order to maintain its competitiveness.

This is from the CEO of BHP Billiton. He also stated:

We are pleased government is progressing with a policy to begin the transition to a low carbon future for Australia.

Fundamentally, these issues come down to whether you believe that Australia’s long-term prosperity is secured by shrinking from the reality of—(Time expired)