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

I thank the senator for her question. What I would say to you—and I confess: with all the things we've had in the chamber and elsewhere today, I haven't read all that the minister said—is that I would think this makes the very point that I have made in this chamber to you: our targets are, whilst achievable, ambitious. This is the fundamental difference between your party and our party. We have, for many years, wanted to take action on climate change. We have fought to take action on climate change. We have brought legislation into this chamber, including for an emissions trading scheme, which was sunk by your party. We understand we have to transition an economy which is very emissions intensive to be able to be competitive in a world which is moving to net zero. We also understand that you don't do that by engaging in stunts and slogans. You don't do that by coming into the chamber and asking questions. You don't do that by making political points. You do that by doing what Minister Bowen is doing, which is to put in place the policy mechanisms to drive that change.

We accept that this is ambitious. It is. But, instead of coming in here and telling us we should be doing more, perhaps you could focus on what could be done to transition this economy whilst ensuring we maintain a strong economy. The answer cannot be that we don't transition to an economy that is equally prosperous and resilient. We have to continue to make sure we have a prosperous and resilient economy as we make this transition. Herein lies the difference between the Greens and the Labor Party.