Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Finance) Share this | Hansard source

Firstly, I remind Senator Milne that right now we are dealing with amendment (3) on sheet 7506 moved by Senator Singh, which seeks to modify the carbon tax as it currently stands and rebudget. I will deal with other foreshadowed amendments and other amendments that have been circulated at the time we are ready to go with them. The thing is we can continue to go around and around in circles, so I will just make two very quick points. Senator Milne talks about Australia having an 18 per cent emissions reduction target by 2020. No, we do not because this government, very transparently, went to the last election in a bipartisan fashion and committed to a five per cent emissions reduction target by 2020 based on 2000 levels. That is what we will deliver on. This debate has been going around and around in circles for so long. By the way, an emissions trading scheme is a government intervention. It is no more a market based mechanism than going into the market to ask people to competitively tender for the lowest cost opportunity to deliver emissions reductions. Whether it is a carbon tax or an emissions trading scheme, these are government interventions that are highly regulatory and impose significant burdens on the economy. We have been very clear that we do not support it. We can continue to go around and around in circles. I suggest that the Senate now vote on the amendment moved by Senator Singh so that we can move on to the other amendments on the Notice Paper, bearing in mind the remaining time available to the Senate to deal with these matters.

The CHAIRMAN: The question is that the opposition amendment be agreed to.