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

What a wonderful speech by a serious adult and effective senator from South Australia. Senator Edwards, I congratulate you on that and thank you for putting some clarity into a debate that I and I suspect other senators might have needed. I will not keep the Senate long. For as long as the Greens continue this process of having a debate other than taking note of answers I intend to contribute as well.

I want to alert the Greens political party to what is happening in Europe. You would probably be aware that after Fukushima the German government, quite curiously I thought, started cutting down on their nuclear power. Instead, they just brought it across the border from France. Nevertheless, it gave the Greens equivalents in Germany some comfort that Germany was no longer using nuclear power—they were just buying it from France across the border!

So I am sure Senator Ludlam would have been happy about that.

But, of course, the hypocrisy of the Greens political party again comes to the fore, because Senator Ludlam would probably be aware—and if he is not he should look into this—that Germany is now building one of the biggest coal-fired power stations anywhere in the world. So here are the Greens. They do not want nuclear power, but what is replacing it? The largest coal-fired power station in the world, being constructed in Germany. So where is the Greens policy consistency on that? Yes, get rid of uranium and nuclear power but encourage coal-fired power stations. I am glad that Germany is going that way.

Similarly with China, I was at a presentation earlier today where it was stated that there are literally hundreds and hundreds of coal-fired power stations being constructed in China at the moment. They are mostly using the cleaner coal that Australia produces, and because of that the lessening of the CO2 emissions from these coal-fired power stations is very considerable. I might add—and I will give Senator Ludlam the statistics shortly—that the amount of reduction in CO2 from all the European emissions trading schemes is infinitesimal compared to the reduction in CO2 emissions from these clean coal power stations in China and elsewhere in Asia.

So again I thank Senator Edwards for clarifying that. I add to the debate again just to highlight—if any highlighting is necessary—the Greens' complete hypocrisy in their approach to issues of energy.

Question agreed to.