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

the fact that you can measure carbon pollution, which is why you can identify a tonne of it.

On the member for Kooyong's question, he has asked me about the modelling and international action and international markets. The modelling core policy scenario assumes that countries meet the low-end commitments for 2020 they have made at Cancun and at Copenhagen. They are the low-end commitments, I repeat; so that is a conservative approach. From 2016 there is a global market and countries have some form of trade in permits—that is, there will be a mechanism for allowing abatement to be sourced in other countries. And then, of course, after 2020 it is assumed that the global cuts in emissions needed to reach global targets are shared across regions.

On this question of modelling, as the opposition increasingly turns its back on anything that looks like sensible economic policy let us be very, very clear about the modelling. Hundreds of pages of information have been released. This modelling has been undertaken by exactly the same people who advised the Howard government—for example, they modelled for them the impact of the GST. Putting a slur on the modelling is the same as putting a slur on the scientists and on the economists. It is the kind of thing that the Leader of the Opposition does as he twists and turns to try and maintain his protest campaign, but he is completely unable to articulate a policy alternative, which is why he will go around saying all things to all people and agree with the last person he spoke with.

Of all the things that have been dealt with in question time today, the government of course is vitally interested in the question of Australian jobs. It still seems to me that a question that should be answered in this parliament is why the Leader of the Opposition is always available for a photo opportunity with a manufacturing worker but when it comes time in this parliament to put his hand up for $300 million of assistance for them he will not do it because he prefers the cheap, petty politics he is known for. (Time expired)

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