Trish Crossin (NT, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to rebut and provide a contribution to this motion to take note of answers in question time. We have announced a broad framework to deal with climate change, and that is what sets us apart so dramatically from my colleagues opposite. We have tried three times in this parliament to get some legislation passed to deal with carbon pollution reduction in this country, and three times we have not been successful because of the climate change deniers sitting opposite me.

We have outlined our plan to cut pollution, to tackle climate change and to deliver the economic reform that we as a country are going to need to move to a clean energy future. But what do we hear from the other side? On the other side, we hear from deniers, people who still do not believe climate change exists. These are people who up until late 2009 stood behind leaders such as Mr Howard and Mr Turnbull because they did believe in climate change and wanted to do something about it. But suddenly there was this case of the jitters—so much so that the opposition moved to actually replace a good leader in order to prove that this country does not need to do anything about climate change.

They are still in denial about it. They think we do not need to move at all. The global economy is already shifting to a clean energy economy and, if the people opposite me had their way, they would sit back and let that all happen. They say, ‘Let’s see what the rest of the world does first and we will lag behind.’ Thirty-two countries and 10 US states are already moving to emissions trading schemes. We in this country have the highest emissions per capita in the world, higher than the United States. Australia’s households and businesses are at risk of being left behind in this global economy that is already moving to cut pollution.

We have introduced a plan with a number of stages, and we will move through that plan in discussion with businesses, industry and a number of stakeholders in the coming months. The plan is clearly outlined. I want to highlight that yesterday colleagues opposite me on national television—in fact, the world wide web—showed off their dancing attributes to try to prove their point about how desperate they are to block, skewer, deride and criticise any move this country might want to take to tackle climate change.

Can I just say—and I hope the national press gallery is listening—that it is not dancing that comes to mind as I provide my contribution today; it is a song, a famous song by Renee Geyer: ‘Stares and Whispers’. What we have opposite us now is a party of stares. We all remember Tony Abbott’s contribution on national television, and of course Ms Bishop’s contribution day after day in the House of Representatives, trying to stare down our leader, our reformist, our Prime Minister, who is pushing this country forward to be part of the debate and part of the action internationally to tackle climate change—and, of course, don’t mention the words, ‘Mr Turnbull’. He could not even admit to this country on Q&A on Monday night that he could not find one economist who could back their plan, their ‘direct action’ plan. So, in the Liberal Party, it is stares and whispers. How does it go? It goes:

They just stare and whisper wherever I go

They just stare and whisper, now everyone knows

That the dream I thought I had found

Has come tumbl’in’ down

Well, Mr Turnbull, it did—and it is unfortunate, because under your leadership we would have bipartisan discussions. Under your leadership, Mr Turnbull, we would be moving this debate forward in this parliament. But, under Mr Abbott’s leadership, we still have deniers, we have people who are embarrassed to tackle this hard policy issue. And when they do, they produce a policy, a ‘direct action’ policy, that is going to cause a $30 billion hole—not million; I know the difference between billions and millions, Senator Joyce—and that will cost working families $720 a year. They are a party of stares, whispers, deniers, defeatists; a party that is not going to be bipartisan in pushing the climate change agenda forward. (Time expired)