Eric Abetz (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister representing the Minister for Climate Change and Energy Efficiency, Senator Wong. Can the minister confirm that according to the latest International Energy Agency report China's CO2 emissions in 1990 were 2,211.3 million tonnes of CO2? Can the minister also confirm that according to the IEA China's CO2 emissions in 2008 were nearly three times greater at 6,508.5 million tonnes of CO2?

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Finance and Deregulation) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I do not have the International Energy Agency document to which the senator is referring in front of me, but listening to the question I think the propo­sition is: as China has been growing, its emissions have been growing. I do not think there is anybody who would suggest that that is not the case. We have seen extraordinary growth in China over the last 20 years as well as an increase in disposable income and of course that growth is one of the strengths of the Australian economy. One of the underlying strengths of the Australian economy is the ongoing growth in China. I would have thought that the senator would not be churlish about that.

I would make the point that the opposition have persisted with the proposition that other countries, including China, are not acting on climate change—amongst the array of reasons they put forward against action on climate change. Of course they neglect to remind Australians that China has the world's largest installed renewable energy electricity generation capacity—some 37 gigawatts of renewable power capacity; more than any other country in the world—and that China has also indicated it proposes to introduce emissions trading pilot schemes in a number of provinces, including the industrial centres of Beijing, Shanghai and Guangdong. The World Bank recently indicated these schemes may be expanded to a national scheme by 2015. The fact is that there are other countries that recognise that to move ahead in the global economy and to be a first-rate economy, you need to be a clean energy economy. On this side, we understand that. Regrettably, those on the other side who did understand that are silent. (Time expired)

Eric Abetz (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. I now refer the minister to the government's Clean Energy Future website fact sheet which states:

According to the International Energy Agency, in the last 20 years China has reduced its amount of carbon pollution faster than any other major economy and, as a developing country, its efforts to limit emissions have been substantial.

On what basis is this claim made, given China has tripled its output of CO2 in the past two decades?

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Finance and Deregulation) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I think I dealt with that in the first question. I do not think there is a suggestion anywhere in the world that we will not see growth in emissions from certain countries. The question is: to what extent is growth in your economy linked to growth in emissions? Other countries have recognised that prosperity in the future will require GDP growth to be delinked from growth in pollution. We cannot continue to have an industrial-age approach to this which says that every unit of economic growth that we have will equivalently increase pollution by a unit. We have to delink those. A great many economies around the world recognise that to be a first-rate economy, you need to be a clean energy economy. That is why China is investing in the sorts of things I described and that is why we need a price on carbon in Australia.

Eric Abetz (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a further supplementary question. Is the minister aware that according to the latest International Energy Agency data, China's emissions represent an increase of a staggering 194.3 per cent over just the last decade? Can the minister explain why the government is spending millions of dollars of taxpayers' money on promoting its carbon tax with information that is just simply wrong?

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Finance and Deregulation) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This from the man who presided over the Work Choices advertising campaign. How many millions of dollars in mousepads and fridge magnets did Senator Abetz sign off on in order to convince Australians that somehow reducing penalty rates—

Ian Macdonald (Queensland, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Northern and Remote Australia) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On a point of order, Mr President: question time becomes a farce when ministers simply attack the questioner instead of attempting to answer the question. On the point of relevance: nowhere has the minister in her 15 seconds so far even bothered to address the question. She has simply, as she always does, attacked the questioner personally because quite obviously she is incapable of addressing the substantive part of the question.

Joe Ludwig (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Manager of Government Business in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On the point of order, Mr President: I will not be drawn on the way Senator Macdonald attacks questioners and the technique that he uses.

Senator Abetz interjecting—

John Hogg (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This is not the time to debate the issue.

Joe Ludwig (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Manager of Government Business in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The minister has been directly answering the question. The minister has been ensuring that she meets the question. In the stretch of the question that Senator Abetz raised, it is within the ability of the minister to range a little more widely than usual. That is acceptable in providing a direct response.

John Hogg (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The minister has been going 15 seconds, as has been rightly pointed out. I am listening closely to the answer of the minister. The minister knows the question which has been asked and has 45 seconds remaining.

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Finance and Deregulation) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I was simply pointing out the hypocrisy of Senator Abetz, of all people, asking the government about com­munications and advertising when he presided over the largest advertising cam­paign, some $55 million, to convince Australians that taking away their penalty rates and other conditions was a good thing. Again I remind the Senate that China is the world's largest producer of both wind turbines and solar panels. It has added some 37 gigawatts of renewable power capacity, more than any other country in the world. Its target is to reduce carbon emissions per unit of GDP by 40 to 45 per cent by 2020. And on a per capita basis, China's level of pollution is about six tonnes a person and ours is 27. (Time expired)