Doug Cameron (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

While I am always pleased to follow Senator Ryan, and I am always pleased to deal with the arguments that Senator Ryan puts up, I give more respect to Senator Boswell, Senator Joyce and Senator Williams who do not believe in climate change and make no bones about it. There is a basis for their opposition to the government doing the right thing because they do not be­lieve there is anything happening in climate change. They are climate change deniers.

But that is not the case with Senator Ryan and it is not the case with Senator Birming­ham and Senator Colbeck, and that makes it even worse. The hypocrisy to actually come here and argue against something that you know needs to be resolved is the worst kind of hypocrisy, and that is the problem with the argument that Senator Ryan has put up. I just happened to stumble across some remarks of a would-be senator, Scott Ryan, at the Victorian Senate candidates climate change debate back at the Elgin Inn in Hawthorn on 7 November 2007.

You do not want to be reminded? Senator Ryan has bolted! Senator Ryan has gone; he does not want to be reminded of what he said. Well, I will put it on the record because I am sure he will not put it on the record. This is him trying to become a senator, trying to argue, 'Vote for me because I am such a great person on the environment'. He said he agreed 'there is a scientific consensus that climate change is occurring and it is human induced'. You would not think so from that lot that we just heard from him. He said:

The Liberals' policy is based on four main planks.

The first one is:

What he has just come out with will not do anything for that. He went on to say:

He should tell Senators Boswell, Joyce and Williams. It is great that we have actually got a scientist in the National Party now. It is a real plus—a scientist in the National Party, Senator McKenzie—and I have asked her to give some basic scientific lessons to the leadership of the National Party in relation to climate change. It really is a big job for her and I hope she takes it up. I do not like her chances with Senator Boswell, Senator Joyce and Senator Williams but she should at least give it a go. She said she is a scientist and deals in scientific fact.

Let's come back to Senator Ryan. He said the third point was that the Liberal Party had:

How often have we heard those on the other side argue that we are only a small player? We should not be doing anything on climate change; we should just bail out to pollute all we like because we are a small country. Senator Ryan seems to have forgotten what he said back at the Elgin Inn in Hawthorn on 7 November 2007. He went on to say:

Then he has the hypocrisy to come here and support a direct action approach, the so-called 'direct action', which we know is the most expensive approach to deal with climate change. Every economist worth their salt says this is a nonsense. We know that the former Leader of the Opposition, Malcolm Turnbull, now says it is nothing more than a fig leaf. It is a fig leaf from the opposition so they can ditch any approach to climate change as soon as they have the opportunity.

Senator Ryan went on to say on 7 November 2007:

The Liberals' policy on climate change is based on: grants to assist the development of low emissions technology; expanding the mandatory renewable energy target to 30,000 gigawatt hours by 2020, equivalent to 15 per cent of Australia's electricity production.

He goes on:

We will introduce a comprehensive and world's best practice emissions trading system.