George Brandis (Queensland, Liberal Party, Attorney-General) Share this | Hansard source

Well, I can tell you, Senator Collins, that, as usual, you are completely wrong. As usual: you are entirely wrong. I can confirm that the policy doesn't effectively impose a price on carbon.

But, Senator Collins, you don't need to take my word for that; you can take the word of John Pierce, the Chair of the Australian Energy Market Commission and a member of the Energy Security Board—who are the authors of the National Energy Guarantee—who said as recently as this morning:

I think it would be very hard to actually identify and say 'this is a carbon price' - there isn't one.' …

So that, Senator Collins, is the view of Mr John Pierce, the chairman of the national energy board.

You asked, 'Is this effectively a carbon price?' No, it's not, Senator Collins. And Mr John Pierce, the Chair of the Australian Energy Market Commission, has also said as recently as this morning that this is not a carbon price, in fact or in effect. So, Senator Collins, as I said, not for the first time but for the umpteenth time you are entirely wrong.

What we do understand, Senator Collins, is that there is one side of this chamber which has an energy policy, and that is the government side because the opposition has no energy policy—no energy policy. But overnight and this morning we have begun to see a little bit of backsliding on behalf of Mr Shorten of the Australian Labor Party; a bit of crab-walking towards maybe, just maybe, adopting the government's National Energy Guarantee. So, after 48 hours of vigorous criticism of the National Energy Guarantee, all of a sudden the Labor Party seems to be about to execute one of their U-turns. (Time expired)