Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Corporate Governance and Responsibility) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to Senator Minchin, the Minister representing the Prime Minister. Is the minister aware of the call for a national carbon emissions trading scheme by the major energy and gas suppliers today? Does not this follow calls from CEOs of other major businesses, including BP, IAG, Origin Energy, Visy, and Westpac for such a trading scheme? Is not the government’s continued refusal to heed these calls from business now threatening billions of dollars of much-needed investment in electricity generation capacity with the potential to impact on Australia’s future economic prosperity? Will the minister finally acknowledge that a national trading scheme makes economic and environmental sense or does he still claim that these business leaders have got it wrong?

Nick Minchin (SA, Liberal Party, Minister for Finance and Administration) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Yes, I have seen reports on the views of the Energy Supply Association of Australia and their views on an emissions trading scheme. I have to say that I think their view is motivated by a concern that what is being put forward by the Labor states focuses solely on energy supply. I listened with interest to their spokesman this morning making the point that any emissions trading scheme had to be comprehensive and apply to all sectors of the economy and the worst thing that could possibly happen is one that singles out the energy supply industry. I detect that to be the major motivation for the statement made by that association today.

I do remind Senator Wong and the ALP that the Prime Minister established some little while ago a task force specifically to examine the question of emissions trading—how an international scheme might work and how Australia could be part of such an emissions trading scheme. That task force has issued a discussion paper and responses to that discussion paper have been invited. It is reporting to the Prime Minister on 31 May. From our point of view we are happy for there to be a debate in the lead-up to the presentation of that report to the government, and there will of course be a government response to that report once it is received. We have said as a matter of principle that we are prepared to be part of a truly international emissions trading scheme, because we are concerned that any one-off unilateral endeavour by Australia—as is apparently proposed by the Labor Party in this extraordinary proposition on their part that we should simply cut our emissions by 50 per cent without any regard for the economic consequences in so doing—is not acceptable because of the enormous damage such a proposition might do to the Australian economy with very little effect on the global emissions of greenhouse gases, given that Australia produces only around one per cent of global emissions. We note with interest what the ESAA said, we invite them to make their views known to the task force and we look forward to receiving the task force’s report.

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Corporate Governance and Responsibility) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. Is the minister aware that the energy suppliers have also called for a long-term target for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions? Minister, why hasn’t the government set such a target and is it because this minister and this government simply refuse to accept the scientific evidence of the threat of climate change? When will the Howard government catch up with business and the community and commit to tackling climate change?

Nick Minchin (SA, Liberal Party, Minister for Finance and Administration) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I do not know where Senator Wong has been for 10 years. This government accepted 10 years ago the reality of climate change and the need to do something about it. We established the world’s first greenhouse gas office and we have spent some $2 billion over that period in greenhouse gas abatement endeavours. Our policies will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by some 87 million tonnes per annum by 2010. Our record is good; our record is clear. We will pursue policies which are practical and sensible and will not destroy jobs. We are not going to go down the path of shutting off the coal industry, like you lot want; we are going to do things that will reduce emissions in a cost-effective fashion and not destroy Australian jobs.