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

I thank the senator for his question and for his ongoing interest in the importance of action on climate change, unlike those opposite. Today is a historic day for the parliament with the passage of the government's clean energy legislation, legislation that will ensure we cut our carbon pollution but, most importantly, that we drive new investment—that we give that signal to investors to invest in the clean energy sources of the future like natural gas, wind and solar power. For the first time we have put a price tag on pollution in this nation, and I suspect that, in years to come, people will wonder why it was that it was so controversial to do something as sensible as saying, 'We want to put a charge, a price, on pollution.' It is such an obvious thing to do if you want to reduce pollution and you want to move to a clean energy economy.

The government's package will deliver tax cuts, higher family benefits and increases in the age pension and other pensions and benefits—all things which are opposed by the opposition. This is an important reform that will deliver environmental benefits for today and for tomorrow but, most importantly, transform our economy for today and tomorrow, building the clean energy economy of the future and the clean energy jobs.

As the world moves to increasingly paying a premium for low-carbon goods and services, this was and is an important reform to ensure Australia is not left behind in developing those technologies, those services, those clean energy industries that are the way of the future. So it is a good day today, a day on which a historic reform has been passed by this parliament—a reform that has been a long time coming, from Mr Howard through to today. This was an important vote. (Time expired)