Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

Thanks to Senator Waters for her question. The government has put forward a safeguard mechanism, the purpose of which is to provide a predictable and orderly pathway to net zero by 2050 for the 215 biggest emitters in our economy. And I would make the point, and I understand this is an issue of negotiation and discussion, that this is the only chance that the parliament will have to reduce emissions from all big emitters.

The safeguard changes are expected to reduce 250 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions to 2030. That is the equivalent of taking two-thirds of Australia's cars off the roads. The proposition in the question seems to suggest, or imply, this is not the way we should go about reducing our emissions. That may be the Greens' view; we don't share it. We see benefit in a predictable pathway to actually deliver the 2030 and 2050 targets.