Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Hansard source

President, I, of course, respect your ruling. The question was: why has it taken so long to deliver these fuel efficiency standards? The reality is that not only is this a complex matter but, as in so many areas affecting climate policy and right across the policy spectrum, we saw a complete blank slate on this picture when we came to office. We were run for 10 years by a group of people who thought that electric vehicles—actually, they didn't think that electric vehicles would end the weekend; they just went out and said that to try and scare people off. We've grabbed the ball, and we're running with it by doing the hard work that's necessary to deliver these fuel efficiency standards. That is why, in the meantime, as I say—