Nick Xenophon (SA, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

I can indicate that I have reservations about supporting this bill at this stage. I cannot support this bill, but I come to that position from a different place than some of my colleagues on the other side of the chamber. My view is this: I do believe that climate change is real and that we need to—as Rupert Murdoch once famously said—give the planet the benefit of the doubt. I think that the science is incredibly strong and that there are issues that need to be dealt with. We need to play our part and be regional leaders in relation to this.

I also believe that it was fundamentally wrong for former Prime Minister Gillard to say, just prior to the 2010 election, that there would be no carbon tax. I think that, if anything, the former government had a reverse mandate not to introduce a carbon tax given the promise that was made. I believe it would—