Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Vice-President of the Executive Council) Share this | Hansard source

Clearly I need to continue with the history lesson. The Liberal and National parties made a decision some time ago that we did not want to push up electricity prices for families and business in a way that just shifts emissions to other parts of the world, where they would be higher for the same amount of economic output. I was just stunned—imagine my surprise when I was sitting on this side opposing Labor's emissions trading scheme, and there was Senator Bob Brown and Senator Rachel Siewert and Senator Hanson-Young and Senator Christine Milne—and guess what happened? It went down. Don't come here telling us how important it is to have an emissions trading scheme. You voted against it. We at least are consistent. You go out there voting with us to do the right thing by the economy, and now you are here trying to virtue-signal in your contest with the Labor Party. Give me a break.