Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

At least the member who asked the question is honest and upfront about the Labor-Greens target. At the Labor Party conference the other week they committed to an emissions reduction target entirely in line with the Climate Change Authority's recommendation, which was 40 to 60 per cent—that would be a two per cent reduction in the size of our economy if the Labor-Green policy were adopted. Not only would there be a two per cent reduction in the size of our economy if the Labor-Green policy were adopted but there is a carbon tax of more than $200 a tonne—part of the electricity tax scam which the Leader of the Opposition wants to foist on the Australian people—and there is a massive $85 billion overbuild of renewable energy capacity thanks to the 50 per cent renewable target that the Leader of the Opposition has also committed himself to.

To get back to the precise question that the member for Melbourne has asked, our commitment of a 26 to 28 per cent reduction is entirely in line with the United States commitment, a little less than the New Zealand commitment, somewhat more than the Japanese commitment, much more than the Korean commitment and immeasurably better than the Chinese commitment and, when it comes to emissions reduction per person, the very best in the developed world. This is a strong and responsible position that the government has adopted. It is environmentally responsible and it is economically responsible. Unlike members opposite, we are not going to clobber the economy to protect the environment. We appreciate that the best way to protect the environment is to have a strong economy too. The best way to protect the environment is to have more Australians in jobs in an economy which is growing strongly—and that is exactly what people will get under this government.

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