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

I really understand and feel sorry for Senator Boyce for having to make that speech. I can understand why she was struggling several times during the speech. It is because she does not believe what she has just said. The reality is that Senator Boyce has the courage and the conviction that many other senators, like Senator Birmingham, do not have, and that is the courage to stand up for her convictions and stand up for what she knew was right, which is to make sure that there is a price on carbon to prepare this country for a low-carbon future so that we look after the children of this country in the future and make sure that they have the same benefits we had for years—that is, an environment that can sustain this country. So I really do understand why you were struggling, Senator Boyce; it is because you really do not believe that rubbish you just came out with.

You were one of the few, along with the member for Wentworth, Malcolm Turnbull, who actually stood up and said, 'We think there should be a price on carbon.' That is what you said. You did the right thing. But now you have been sucked in to the morass and nonsense that the coalition is putting up in its fear campaign on a carbon price. What should be understood is that the effect of a carbon price in this country is one-quarter of the effect that the GST had, and yet we did not hear speeches from the coalition warning that the GST was four times the cost of a carbon price. We did not hear any of that come up. We did not hear any warnings from the coalition about the cost to the economy—and this carbon price has an impact on the economy one-quarter of that of the GST.

Why are we doing it? You always have to remind yourself why we are doing it. We are doing it for the schoolkids here today. We are doing it for future generations. We are doing it for my grandkids, who hopefully will be around in 80 years time when we run out of mineral resources in this country, when we understand that there are no minerals left and that we have to have other ways of dealing with our economy and building new industries for the future. That is really what we have to do.

The hypocrisy of Senator Boyce, to stand up here and run a scare campaign on pensioners when she knows it is not true, when she knows that what she has just gone through is part of the broader scare campaign that the Leader of the Opposition, Tony Abbott, is running right throughout the country! It is scare campaigns like 'Wollongong will close down' and 'The manufacturing industry will die under a carbon price', yet no-one believes that. It is just for the six o'clock news, to get a grab out there. I really, really am concerned that Senator Boyce has abandoned her principles in terms of the right thing to do and comes in and defends the nonsense that the Leader of the Opposition, Tony Abbott, is running.

I can understand Senator Fifield. Senator Fifield would come in here and do anything and say anything as long as it advanced the coalition's political position. That is fair enough. You are entitled to come in and promote your side's political position. But you should not come in here and try and scare pensioners, try and scare people with disabilities and try and scare the not-for-profit sector in relation to the effects of a carbon price, because the effects of the carbon price are minimal. They are minimal, and we know that.

We also know that every economist worth their salt in this country has said that the most efficient and effective way to deal with a carbon price is to allow the market to determine the price and allow the market to determine how we deal with the most efficient way of reducing carbon. That is what the economists tell us. Every economist of any standing has put that position. Yet what do we get from the opposition? We get scare campaigns—scare campaign after scare campaign. It is a scare campaign a day from the Leader of the Opposition, Tony Abbott.

Senator Boyce, who knows better and who actually supported a price on carbon in this Senate, who crossed the floor to support a price on carbon, showed more morality and more courage than the rest of the Liberal Party put together. That includes Senator Birmingham, who knows exactly the same point, who was a supporter of a price on carbon, who was a supporter of market price, who backflipped on it—'Backflip Birmingham'—

Senator Birmingham interjecting—

and who has absolutely no moral standing to yell across the chamber at me—absolutely none. When you get a bit of backbone, Senator Birmingham, that is the day you should stand up and lecture me, but you cannot stand up and lecture me because you have no backbone. You would collapse back into your red seat. That is what would happen to you—a jelly back, like Peter Costello. There are too many of you over there with jelly backs and no backbone.

If you were actually serious about doing something about the environment and the future of this country, you would put a price on carbon. You know that. Your former leader was assassinated by the worst elements in the Liberal Party, assassinated by the extremists, and you guys stood back and let it happen. He was assassinated because he understood that you have to put a price on carbon to build the new jobs and provide certainty for industry in this country. That was the position put by your leader, and then you assassinated him.

Then, all of a sudden, you had people like Senator Birmingham, who was a supporter of a price on carbon, who was a supporter of putting a market price on, suddenly saying, 'No, we don't do that anymore.' They have absolutely no credibility and absolutely no moral standing in this debate, let me tell you. They come in here and all they want to do is say: 'Let's forget about global warming. Let's forget about the kids' future. Let's forget that we need to do something so we're not left behind the rest of the world and so that our manufacturing jobs are capable of competing in the future. Forget all that. Let's look at short-termism. Let's just look at short-term political advantage.' It is an absolute disgrace.

There is no leadership from the coalition. We had no leadership from them for 11½ years when they were in government. All they did was idle away, when this country could have been making the investment for the future. All they do now is come in here and run scare campaign after scare campaign. There is absolutely no validity in what they are putting up.

Senator Humphries interjecting—

Senator Humphries has interjected. He is another one of those Liberal senators who know that the right thing to do is put a price on carbon and have a market price but who became a jelly back when Tony Abbott took the leadership, who would not stand up to the Leader of the Opposition, who would not stand up for their own principles and their own values and just rolled over to the argument that you should not do anything on carbon price. Direct action is a farce. Direct action will not work. Senator Humphries knows that well. The opposition have no economic credibility and no environmental credibility. They are not fit to govern. They have got no policies for the future. They would cast the future of these children who are watching here today into the wilderness, for short-term political gain. They are an absolute disgrace. All they have is fear campaigns, lies and misrepresentation. You are a disgrace as an opposition. You should stand up here and do what Senator Boyce did in the past and say, 'We need a price on carbon,' and stop being— (Time expired)