Kevin Rudd (Griffith, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

It goes directly to the question. Mr Howard told the Melbourne Press Club—I presume, representing the Howard Liberal government—on 17 July last year:

Now we must position Australia for a low carbon future. We face a major new reform challenge in designing an emissions trading system and setting a long-term goal for reducing our emissions in the absence of a global carbon scheme.

These decisions will be amongst the most important Australia takes in the next decade.…

Reducing carbon emissions will mean higher energy and petrol prices. Australians need to understand that.

That was the former, Liberal Prime Minister of Australia last year. Therefore I would draw the attention of those opposite, firstly, to the position adopted by the former Prime Minister in announcing the position of the government then and, secondly, to the position which was put forward by the member for Wentworth, which is that—

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