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

Let me just make one point very clear, again: Australia met its Kyoto emissions reduction target without a carbon tax. We were on track to meet and exceed the Kyoto emissions reduction targets during the period of the Howard government. Of course, the emissions reduction period happened to fall; it was the period from 2008 onwards. Guess what? That was after the long period of 11½ years of a coalition government with outstanding Ministers for the Environment such as former Senator Robert Hill, former Senator Ian Campbell and, my good friend and valued colleague, Malcolm Turnbull. Australia was absolutely on track then and in the subsequent period. It was evident that we did meet and exceed the Kyoto targets. That was without a carbon tax.

Senator Singh talks about modelling. I remember Labor's modelling in relation to the carbon tax, because I was chairing a number of Senate committees inquiring into the carbon tax. That is the carbon tax we were promised we would never get:

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

Senator Singh is going to say that I am really relitigating the previous election campaign. That is right, because she is relitigating the previous election campaign: she does not accept the fact that the people of Australia have voted against Labor's failed carbon tax experiment.

The Labor Party modelling into their carbon tax showed that emissions in Australia were expected to increase, despite the carbon tax, from 560 million tonnes in 2010 to about 637 million tonnes in 2020. It was also showing that our economy would grow more slowly. In fact, by 2050, our economy was expected to grow more slowly to the tune of $1 trillion in 2011 dollars. That was nearly the whole GDP of the whole of Australia in order to pay for the Labor-Greens carbon tax. If you look to the effect of the Labor-Greens carbon tax according to Labor's own modelling, it was actually forcing everyone right across Australia to work for free for nearly a whole year in order to pay for the economic impact of Labor's carbon tax.

If you want to talk about modelling, your modelling certainly showed what a dog of a tax your carbon tax was. Everybody across Australia knows that Labor's carbon tax was an absolute failure. Emissions were going to continue to rise, the economy was going to grow significantly more slowly and real wages were going to be lower and reduce over time as a result of Labor's carbon tax. Labor was never quite open, honest and upfront about these things; but it is just important that I just remind people as questions about modelling are asked.

Now, the government's direct action plan will reduce Australia's domestic emissions by five per cent below 2000 levels by 2020. The good news is the government believes that Australia's abatement task under direct action is actually now going to be easier to achieve than previously thought. Australia's abatement task is now around 421 million tonnes to 2020 rather than around 755 million tonnes assumed in the 2005 projections. The fall is largely as a result of changes in the economy. It saddens me to say the part of the reason why the abatement challenges going to be easier to meet is because after six years of Labor, the economy was growing below trend. We inherited a weakening economy and rising unemployment. That is what we inherited.

If you want to reduce emissions, you can do it the Labor-Greens way and strangle the economy and get the economy to grow more slowly. That is a way that you can reduce emissions. That is not our way. That was Labor-Greens way. Our way to reduce emissions is to it in a way that is economically sensible; that will facilitate stronger growth, not less growth; and that looks after the environment at the same time as looking after the economy and looking after opportunities for people across Australia to get ahead. That is our approach to this area of policy.