Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Climate Change and Water) Share this | Hansard source

I welcome the question on the issue of business certainty, because I would like to remind the honourable senator of what has been communicated publicly to the government about the need for certainty on these issues—a certainty that was never provided by the previous government when it came to climate change. We do know that those opposite, including the senator who asked me the question, are of the view that Australia should not take any action on climate change. That appears to be their view.

First, can I refer to the media release that Alcoa put out, which indicated that the proposed expansion of the refinery had been suspended until market conditions improved. I would also make this point: business groups have made very clear to the government that, when it comes to climate change policy, they need certainty. And, as a government that are taking an economically responsible approach to the design of the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme, we have heeded their calls for certainty.

I remind those opposite that the Business Council of Australia stated that if the government pulled the plug and delayed the system now the level of uncertainty would be even more difficult to deal with. So it is very clear that the Business Council of Australia has not signed up to the calls by those opposite to delay the scheme. It is yet another excuse for inaction by those opposite when it comes to climate change. Similar views have been publicly expressed by the Minerals Council of Australia, which stated publicly that a delay would just add to the uncertainty.

Our proposition is this: if those opposite are serious about ensuring that business does have the certainty it needs when it comes to climate change policy in these times, they should start to be clear, first, whether or not they are going to listen to their leader, Mr Turnbull, who, when in government, did indicate he would proceed down the path of an emissions trading scheme. Are they going to back their leader on this? Second, they should stop arguing for more delay and more uncertainty when it is clear that Australia’s business leaders have been very strong and very clear in their public statements as well as in their advice to government about the need for policy certainty on this front. But we know one thing is certain, and that is that those opposite are completely divided and completely unable to come to an agreed position when it comes to climate change. Our challenge to Mr Turnbull is this: people judge you not by what you say but by what you do. Mr Turnbull will need to do more than leak the fact that he unsuccessfully took the Kyoto protocol ratification to cabinet if he is to demonstrate that he can make good on his previous position that climate change is something that the government should act on, that it is a challenge that confronts the Australian community and that the responsible economic approach is to put in place a sound emissions trading scheme such as the one the government proposes in the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme.