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

Thank you, Senator Cameron—I was trying to think of a phrase. John Howard was the great leader of the Right, the great leader of the conservative cause, who had a change of heart on the issue of climate change. Part of why he did was that business was saying to the government of the day, ‘We want certainty.’ Business is still saying that, and yet those on the other side seem to be unable to come to a position on this because they are still so divided.

I think senators opposite are cowards for not debating this, but I will say one thing about Senator Joyce. For all the argy-bargy in the previous debate, at least he has been honest about it in the public arena. He said, ‘We want to filibuster—we don’t want to vote.’ He has been upfront about it. He says, ‘We’ll just keep talking to delay a vote.’ At least he is honest about it, but Senator Minchin, Senator Parry and those who know that that is actually not a reasonable thing for the alternative government to say are trying to hide behind a procedural motion that says, ‘We think all these bills are so important, so we won’t support the government when they want additional hours but we will support ensuring that we delay discussing the CPRS vote.’

It is a position driven not by what is in the national interest but by what is in the interests of the internal position of the Liberal Party. The fact is that they have been so divided on this issue that the only issue they can agree on is delaying a vote. It is the only issue on which the opposition can agree. Our challenge as the government to the opposition is this: if you have the courage of your convictions, if you really believe this legislation is the wrong thing to do, then bring it on and debate it. But you are not—you are scurrying away in a pathetic act of weakness, trying to delay and filibuster this bill, making mealy-mouthed contributions which everybody in this chamber knows are simply about avoiding a vote.