John Hogg (Queensland, Deputy-President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research, Senator Carr. Can the minister please explain to the Senate how uncertainty about emissions trading will affect Australian business?

Kim Carr (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Hogg for that question. The government is very concerned that playing cheap, short-term politics when it comes to climate change may end up being very expensive for Australian business, Australian workers and Australian families. Business needs a stable policy environment to make secure investments and provide secure jobs. That is why the government has made its intentions on climate change absolutely clear. It is essential that we give business and the community the certainty that they need. We have heard from Senator Abetz on this issue. We know that the climate change deniers opposite will never provide that certainty. The opposition environment spokesman says, for instance, that they will make up their minds on emissions trading ‘in due course’. So, I ask: what does it mean? What can that possibly mean? Does it mean in 11 years? That is how long it took for them to admit that climate change was in fact an issue. And Senator Minchin remains unconvinced on that point. Senator Johnston and the member for Tangney want to stall the introduction of the emissions-trading scheme indefinitely—that is if the Australian of this morning can be believed—and they have clearly decided it is time for what they call a little ‘push-back’ on climate change. The whole question is being hijacked on the other side by the show ponies and the headline hunters.

Last week the opposition passed the government’s proposal to make capital expenditure on carbon sink forests tax-deductible. Senator Coonan was gracious enough to say, ‘We are pleased to support that measure.’

Stephen Conroy (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Really?

Kim Carr (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Well, that is what she said last week. But last night it was a very different story, when we saw the improbable spectacle of Senator Heffernan and Senator Joyce joining with the Greens to oppose the very same measure their parties were pleased to support just a few days before. So the opposition is not flip-flopping on emissions trading because the circumstance has changed; it is flip-flopping because it is totally divided on this, as it is on so many issues. This is a recipe for killing investment, killing prosperity and killing jobs in this country. The introduction of an emissions-trading scheme will be a truly momentous change, and it is essential that business has a well-defined pathway forward. The government is providing that pathway. We are consulting widely and taking on board what we have learned from Treasury modelling, from the Garnaut review, from business and from the community.

The government will soon release a green paper on the design of the emissions-trading scheme. Our first budget included $2.3 billion for climate change initiatives. As well as the ETS, we are also looking at promoting investment in energy efficient technologies and green production processes. Senator Hogg would know that the previous government, towards the end of their reign, actually acknowledged that this was a good idea. But that was last year. This year, the now opposition oppose low emissions technologies such as the Toyota Camry hybrid. Business needs certainty to invest in retooling. It needs certainty to invest in research and development, and it needs certainty as to what the government will deliver. It is uncertainty that the opposition is peddling. (Time expired)