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

I am not sure if the senator was in the chamber for previous debates on this issue but I think that question has been asked a few hundred times. I would make two points in response. First, in relation to the impact on Australian pollution, the carbon pollution would fall by around 160 million tonnes per year in 2020. Of course, the coalition do not want to talk about that—160 million tonnes per year in 2020 compared to what it would otherwise be. I would also make the point that that is in fact the coalition's policy but they are going to double the cost for Australian business in achieving it.

In relation to global emissions: obviously, as we have said on many occasions, climate change is a global problem. It demands action from countries across the world and action by major emitters and other nations as well. It is incorrect to suggest that the government has ever suggested that somehow climate change is only fixed by one country. What we do say is that it is a global challenge but we also say this: Australia has to be part of the response.

The policy question before the chamber when this legislation comes in will be: what is the best mechanism for us to be part of that response—that of the government, who want to impose a price on carbon, an economically efficient mechanism; or that of the opposition, who want to tax Australians $1,300 more per year to double the cost on Australian business of the transition to a clean energy economy? Which of the two policies is better?