Jenny McAllister (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Emergency Management) Share this | Hansard source

Senator Van, you are right: we went to the last election seeking to bring some measure of consistency and predictability to climate change policy. It had been a policy area which was the subject of chaos and dysfunction under the previous government, and it was clear that our national interests would be best served by a return to a predictable and orderly approach to this policy area. When we first came to government we sought, as you recall, to establish our emissions target in legislation. We also sought to establish a governance arrangement that would allow us to track and monitor our progress and to take advice from the Climate Change Authority about how we were progressing and any future arrangements.

All of that has occurred, and there are a number of reasons that it matters to us. It matters because Australia is exposed to the realities of climate change. Australians know that the climate is changing, and all of the scientists tell us that our climate is changing. That impacts rainfall, it impacts heat, it impacts fire weather, and it impacts a whole range of sectors of Australian society, including the farm sector, communities, fisheries—a whole range of areas where a change in climate makes a real difference. Our best chance at dealing with that lies in being part of the international community and supporting international efforts to reduce emissions.

We've set about doing that, but we also make the obvious point that our economic interests lie here too. There is a global market for low-carbon products and services, and we want Australians to be part of that market. We want the jobs and opportunities that come with a low-carbon world to be part of the future for Australia.