John Murphy (Reid, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Climate Change and Energy Efficiency. Minister, would you update the House on any implications of the release of the Carbon Disclosure Project’s annual report and of progress towards the establishment of a carbon price in the economy?

Greg Combet (Charlton, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Climate Change and Energy Efficiency) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Reid for his question. The Carbon Disclosure Project is an initiative comprising no less than 534 international institutional investors collectively representing over $64 trillion under management. In Australia the project’s membership comprises 43 partners representing over $420 billion worth of funds under management. Today the annual report of the Carbon Disclosure Project has been released in relation to Australia and New Zealand and the report provides a number of important insights into contemporary business thinking about the issue of climate change and carbon pricing. It indicates that of those companies surveyed 76 per cent of the top companies in the ASX200 see action to combat climate change as representing greater business opportunities than risks to their business. Sixty-seven per cent of the ASX200 companies surveyed saw regulatory uncertainty as a key business risk and 64 per cent of those companies surveyed see significant business risks from physical impacts of climate change. In other words, three-quarters of the companies surveyed see significant business opportunities in the establishment of a carbon price and about two-thirds believe that the lack of a policy on carbon pricing is an inherent business risk.

It is no surprise therefore that many of the business leadership in Australia accept and recognise that the establishment of a carbon price in our economy is a necessary economic reform. The Treasurer and I have indicated that a number of the business leadership from across very important sectors of the Australian economy have agreed to join the government’s business round table for the purpose of consultation over this important economic reform.

The companies represented on the government’s round table represent a workforce of around 380,000 people in our economy and collectively generate revenues of around $225 billion. So this will be a very important consultative forum for the government to discuss the issues concerning carbon pricing. This is a very important economic reform to provide certainty to the business community, particularly in sectors such as the energy industry, where we know that billions of dollars of investment are backed up awaiting certainty over the issue of carbon pricing and how such a policy would operate in the marketplace for that investment to proceed. That is why the business community is supporting an economic reform of this nature, and it stands in stark contrast to the policy position of the Leader of the Opposition. The Leader of the Opposition is out of step with mainstream business thinking—

Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! The minister will return to the question.

Greg Combet (Charlton, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Climate Change and Energy Efficiency) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

and many on the other side in this House understand that issue well.

Opposition Member:

You are out of step with the community on climate change, Greg.

Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

If we can get the member for Hume back in step with the House, we will be right.