Eric Abetz (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Minister for Employment) Share this | Hansard source

I was absolutely right yesterday when I predicted that, no matter what the target was that we as a government would announce today, it would not be good enough for the Greens. Sure enough, Senator Waters has been able to confirm that that is the case.

In relation to the two-degree goal, can I advise the honourable senator—and she must surely know this—that this is a collective goal and not one that Australia can reach alone. In relation to that which Australia is doing, we are going to be reducing our emissions per person by 50 per cent. That is the highest reduction of any country that has thus far indicated its target, per person, so Australia is well and truly lifting beyond its capacity on a per capita basis. This is not a weak target, but it is an achievable target. It is not a dangerous target; it is one that keeps the environmental concerns in tune with the economic and job concerns that the Australian people rightly have.

We have seen from the Australian Labor Party a target that has not been suggested or adopted by any other country, which is solely designed to try to get some of the green vote in inner-city seats back to the Australian Labor Party. Well, the Labor Party can sell out their workers, the manufacturing sectors and the farm workers, all around the country in a bid for green votes. We will not be in that business. We will be in the business of having a good, balanced approach. If you have a look at those figures that have been announced today, we are in the middle of a— (Time expired)