Ben Small (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I note colleagues like Senator McMahon who have raised in this place today the unlawful protests and desecration of our national parliament by criminals earlier today. I also note the shamefully vocal defence of those criminals mounted by the Greens in this very chamber. In fact, it almost leads me to channel Peter Costello in asking: 'How do the Greens sleep while their prams are burning?' This is a government that can walk and chew gum at the same time. Not only are we taking meaningful action on the very real challenge of emissions reduction—which I'll get to in time—but we've also undertaken very significant reforms, important reforms, to the Australian charities and not-for-profit sector to ensure that no organisation that hides behind the tax deductions and the legitimacy of the charitable status afforded to it undertakes and resources the sorts of profoundly illegal and offensive behaviour that those Greens over there support in this place today.

We've also heard criticism from the Labor Party today. Somehow, achieving emissions reductions in real terms—such that our emissions today are lower than they were in 1990—achieving emissions reductions of 20 per cent on 2005 levels and beating Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States and South Africa in achieving emissions reductions since 2005 aren't enough for them. It would seem that the only things they're looking for are job-destroying taxes, blank cheques and meaningless international commitments. Well, this is a government that won't stand for that. We stand for ambitious action on climate change, but only where it can be met and supported by a clear plan, a costed plan and one that supports Australian jobs. That's why the Morrison government stands proudly behind its technology road map that supports a lower-carbon-intensity future, not only for the Australian economy but also for the rest of the world.

The reality is that climate change and emissions reduction are a global problem. The developing world accounts for more than two-thirds of carbon emissions, and China alone accounts for more emissions than all of the OECD economies combined. That is to say that reducing Australia's 1.1 per cent contribution to global emissions can't, of itself, solve this problem. But we have a very legitimate place at the global table when these matters are discussed, because of our impressive track record of actual emissions reductions and because of our ambition to reach net zero as soon as possible and preferably by 2050.

That is a powerful message and one that resonates with the Australian people—the Australian people who enjoy jobs in the resources sector, who enjoy jobs in advanced manufacturing and who see opportunities that loom on the horizon as this government makes investments in things like hydrogen, carbon capture and storage, electric vehicle infrastructure and heavy vehicle efficiencies, which those opposite joined up with the Greens to vote against. Just six weeks ago in this very chamber, those opposite voted against a $192.5 million investment in renewable technologies. That exposes the hypocrisy and the baseless lies that are trotted out each day. They contrast most starkly with the actions of a government that has achieved not only real emissions reduction but such a significant level of emissions reduction that we stand proudly at the forefront of the global effort on this issue.