Louise Pratt (WA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, my question this afternoon—

Honourable Senators:

Honourable senators interjecting—

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

Order! Senator Pratt is entitled to be heard in silence. When Senator Pratt can be heard in silence I will give her the call. When there is silence we will proceed.

Louise Pratt (WA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister representing the Minister for Climate Change, Industry and Innovation, Senator Lundy. Can the minister outline to the Senate the actions being taken in Australia and around the world to tackle what is dangerous climate change? How does this compare with predictions?

Kate Lundy (ACT, Australian Labor Party, Minister Assisting for Industry and Innovation) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

A price on carbon is working to reduce emissions. Emissions in the National Electricity Market have fallen by 7.4 per cent in the first 11 months of the carbon price being in place. This action is not being taken in isolation.

Honourable Senators:

Honourable senators interjecting—

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

Order! Senator Lundy is entitled to be heard in silence. If you wish to have private conversations, I invite you to go outside, but do not do so across the chamber.

Kate Lundy (ACT, Australian Labor Party, Minister Assisting for Industry and Innovation) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

As I was saying, this action is not being taken in isolation. By the end of this year, around one billion people around the world will live in a city, province or country with a price on carbon. This includes provinces in China, our largest trading partner. Last week, the first of China's seven pilot emissions trading schemes kicked off in Shenzhen. The scheme will cover 600 companies responsible for 40 per cent of the city's emissions. The start of the scheme was not marked by the city being wiped off the map. Nor has the Shenzhen stock market crashed. In fact, at the end of the first day of the scheme, it closed not down but up.

For years the opposition has claimed that the rest of the world is not acting on climate change, and on more than 50 occasions they have said that China would never act. What we know is that a leader of the opposition is on the record as saying: 'China is never going to hit themselves with an emissions trading scheme.' Well, that is wrong. It is absolutely wrong, and we can see action taking place in China now. The fact is that the rest of the world is acting. With one billion people living in a place now with an emissions trading scheme in effect, this shows that the world is acting not only to contend with climate change but, of course, acting in line with Labor's approach. It is about time that those opposite started acknowledging the fact that this is part of a global movement to tackle climate change. It is the responsible thing to do, and, of course, that is why it is left to the Labor government to take this important action. (Time expired)

Opposition senators interjecting—

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

Order! I will give you the call, Senator Pratt, when there is silence on my left. If you wish to debate the issue the time is at three o'clock.

Louise Pratt (WA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I have a supplementary question. Having spoken about international action, can the minister please advise what other world leaders are saying about climate change and what actions are being taken?

Kate Lundy (ACT, Australian Labor Party, Minister Assisting for Industry and Innovation) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Overnight, the President of the United States has made it clear, and I quote:

We don't have time for a meeting of the Flat Earth Society. Sticking your head in the sand might make you feel safer, but it's not going to protect you from the coming storm. And ultimately, we will be judged as a people, and as a society, and as a country on where we go from here.

Honourable Senators:

Honourable senators interjecting—

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

Order! If you wish to debate it, as I said, you debate it after question time, on both sides. When there is silence on both sides, we will proceed.

Kate Lundy (ACT, Australian Labor Party, Minister Assisting for Industry and Innovation) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Contrary to claims of those opposite, President Obama still prefers a market based approach, as he stated today.

In my State of the Union address, I urged Congress to come up with a bipartisan, market-based solution to climate change, like the one that Republican and Democratic senators worked on together a few years ago. And I still want to see that happen. I'm willing to work with anyone to make that happen.

But this is a challenge that does not pause for partisan—

(Time expired)

Louise Pratt (WA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I have a further supplementary question. Can the minister advise how emissions can be reduced in alternative ways, and what might the costs be of such policies?

Kate Lundy (ACT, Australian Labor Party, Minister Assisting for Industry and Innovation) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

As we can see, President Obama is working down the same path that Labor has. We are now approaching this in the only economically responsible way to reduce it, which is through a price on carbon. But we know these facts are an anathema to those opposite.

To achieve the same emissions reductions as our package the opposition would slug households $1,300 per year. Today, it has been revealed that they have dug another budget hole. Apparently Mr Abbott will repeal the carbon price immediately, and under the Liberals' plan the vast majority of industry assistance for the coming financial year will have already been paid out, yet the polluters will no longer be obliged to surrender their permits for their pollution. That is a $10 billion hit to their budget. They need to explain where that shortfall is coming from, otherwise they will be further exposed for their dishonesty in relation to their climate change policies.