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

I thank the senator for her question. It's a question that goes to the heart of why this reform is needed. It goes to the heart of why this reform is good not only for action on climate but also for the Australian economy and for Australian business. One of the irrationalities from those opposite has been that they have misunderstood, for over 15 years, the importance of certainty in markets. The 22 energy policies that they put in place ensured that there was no investment certainty and that the private sector would not invest in accordance with its desires, much of the time, which is why we have this bizarre situation where most of the business community is not where the coalition is. That really must be hard for the party that thinks it's the party of business. What I've noticed in some of the debate is that they seem to say that somehow it's because business don't understand. (Time expired)