Julia Gillard (Lalor, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for his quest­ion. I think it is very important that there is a shared and respectful understanding of the science of climate change. Where that shared and respectful understanding of the science of climate change leads us is that we live in a world where, as a result of human activity and the way we live today—the industr­ialised high-energy way we live today—we generate more carbon pollution than at any other time in human history. What that means is that there is a level of damage already done which we cannot unthink or undo. There is a level of damage that lies in front of us and we can make a difference to that—that is, we can act to cut carbon pollution. Rather than saying, as a nation, that we are prepared to just allow whatever the future gives us in terms of levels of carbon pollution with all of the danger that that would create for our nation, we can act to reduce those levels of carbon pollution. I believe in doing that. I believe as a nation which is amongst the 20 biggest polluters in our world, we should be acting to cut carbon pollution.

I am a little bit surprised about this question because I would have to say that, unless there has been a big change in opposition policy, I thought members of the opposition said that they supported cutting carbon pollution too. Maybe I am wrong about that. I know, of course, that climate change scepticism has swept through the Liberal Party and claimed the Leader of the Opposition, so now maybe they reject the need to do anything about carbon pollution and simply deny its existence.

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