Ian Macdonald (Queensland, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I am not sure that I was on the speakers' list, but I am always happy to debate any particular motion before the Senate. The Carbon Farming Initiative is another initiative of the Abbott government. I have quite a bit to say on this, but if there was someone who was listed to speak and who wants to take over, I will happily give up some of my time for that person to continue. But this particular piece of legislation has come to this parliament through a fairly torturous set of circumstances, I might say. It really all started with a promise made before the 2010 election by the then Prime Minister, Ms Gillard, and that promise was:

There will be no carbon tax under the government I lead.

Mr President, as you and I—and indeed, everyone in this chamber—know, a lot of people voted for Ms Gillard and her party in 2010 on the basis that the Labor Party, if elected, would not introduce a carbon tax. We know that, not long after the Labor Party was—by a strange series of circumstances—re-elected as the government of Australia, no sooner did that happen, the government of Ms Gillard did what it said it would not do, and that is to introduce a carbon tax. That then set in train a series of events and legislation and different things that happened that you could say almost culminate with the bill before us today. Over a long period of time the coalition said to the Australian people, 'We know this carbon tax is a bad tax. We know it is bad policy. Not only does it not collect any money, but it doesn't do anything about the environment.' And most Australians could understand that—you did not need to be an economic genius to work that out. Our side of politics had promised that we would abolish the carbon tax if we were successful at the 2013 election.

But we do acknowledge that the world should try to reduce carbon emissions for its particulate consequence, as well as every other consequence. So, at the election, we promised not only would we abolish the carbon tax but we would also introduce a Direct Action policy which would do more for the world's carbon emissions than any of Labor's carbon taxes ever would. But the Direct Action policy will not cost Australian jobs; it will not send Australian manufacturing overseas; it will not export Australian jobs. The initiative that we are debating today is part of the suite of measures that involves Direct Action and is part of that whole process. It is a policy which clearly I support, and which I would certainly hope that all senators would support, as well.

I have a lot more that I could say on this. If I might say so myself, I am well versed on the Carbon Farming Initiative and the amendment bill. But I see that Senator Singh, who is listed to speak and to lead the debate, is here in the chamber. So, in deference to her and to the good order and management of this debate and recognising that there is a limited amount of time to debate these issues today, I will cut my speech short and defer to Senator Singh.