Angus Taylor (Hume, Liberal Party, Minister for Energy and Emissions Reduction) Share this | Hansard source

Well, right next door! The member for Shortland should be backing this in. He should be backing this in, and he sits there silently because he doesn't like the technology.

Importantly, we're taking real and practical action to drive down emissions. We have strong targets, we have a clear plan and we have an enviable track record. On June 30, we came to the end of the Kyoto era of emissions reductions, and we beat our targets by 430 million tonnes. When those opposite left government back in 2013, they forecast that emissions this year would be over 630 million tonnes. This year they are 530 million tonnes and likely to be lower—we'll see in the next few months. That's 100 million tonnes lower than those opposite forecast with a carbon tax. And how have we done that? Technology not taxes. We deploy the very best technologies across Australia to make sure Australians can deliver those emissions reductions in a way that's consistent with job creation and investment. We've seen record job creation across Australia during that time frame. The 850,000 jobs in manufacturing that the member for Bennelong talked about are absolutely crucial to this country.

I thank the member for Indi for her important question about regional communities and microgrids. Can I strongly encourage her to get her constituents involved with soil carbon projects, hydrogen—an enormous opportunity for Australia—clean steel and aluminium, of course, which will rely heavily on hydrogen. A great opportunity for Australia. The gas industry will play a role for many years to come, alongside coal. Balance in our system is absolutely crucial, but these technologies are essential to the future of energy in this country.

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