Christine Milne (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister representing the Prime Minister, Senator Abetz. Can the minister confirm that the Australian government instructed its officials to oppose moves within the OECD's Export Credit Group to stop financial assistance for coal plants in developing countries? If so, why?

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

The very first thing that I think should be understood is that there are well over 1,000 million people in the world without a regular or decent supply of electricity, living in absolute, grinding poverty. And there is no doubt that, if we are to lift those people from that grinding poverty, we need to provide them with a relatively cheap and reliable energy source. We believe that that can be best provided, in the short term at least, by clean coal such as that which Australia exports.

It is interesting that on this occasion the Australian Greens would have us champion the cause of, as I understand it, the United States in the OECD, whereas on this occasion we are in fact in lock step with our near Asian neighbours such as Japan and Korea. So those that continually assert that we should be engaging with our Asian neighbours only do so when it suits them and then hide behind—if I can quote them back at themselves—the skirts and the petticoat of the United States when it suits them. What we have—

Honourable Senators:

Honourable senators interjecting—

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

Or the forelock tugging—whatever terminology you might want to use. That is what the Australian Greens continually direct at us, and here they are saying we should be championing the same cause as the United States, when we are saying we are in lock step with Japan and South Korea, our near Asian neighbours. We will announce in due course that which we believe ought to be occurring, but negotiations are occurring. (Time expired)

Christine Milne (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I take that as a 'yes'—that the officials were instructed to do that. I ask a supplementary question, Mr President. Given that the Prime Minister, Treasurer Hockey, the Minister for the Environment and now you, Senator Abetz, are all using lines straight out of the PR document of Peabody Energy, America's biggest coal company—the 'coal lifts people out of poverty' routine—can you confirm that Peabody's instructions have now been given to the whole of the Liberal Party for their talking points on coal? (Time expired)

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

I can assure Senator Milne that I was not aware of whatever that company's name was, but they adopted what is a very common-sense statement—that is, that coal genuinely has the capacity to lift people out of poverty. If it is a fact, I do not care if Senator Milne says it, I will adopt it. I do not care who says something if it is an objective fact. I would encourage anybody else to tell us how else you can lift people out of poverty other than through an energy supply that is reliable and cheap. Whatever company it was that may have said it, it is a statement of truth, a statement that we support. The cleaner the coal they can use, the better—and who has some of the cleanest coal in the world? We have. (Time expired)

Christine Milne (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a further supplementary question. Given the government's attack on the renewable energy target, the Renewable Energy Agency and the Clean Energy Finance Corporation and, now, the promotion of and opposition to curbs on coal, will the government now admit that it is the wholly owned subsidiary of the coal industry?

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

What a bizarre question from the Leader of the Australian Greens—who succeeded a leader who promoted a coal-fired power station for my home state of Tasmania against a renewable energy supplier of hydro-electricity. The hypocrisy and the duplicity is galling. Everybody in this place knows that you can support coal-fired power stations and a renewable energy target. They are not inconsistent. We are pursuing both in a sensible manner while you, Senator Milne, and the Australian Greens, in your ideological-driven hatred of hydro-electricity, have come unstuck 30 years later—when you and your cohorts in Tasmania champion a coal-fired power station against a sustainable renewable energy supply of hydro. (Time expired)