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

I might assist the opposition as well on this issue. If they turned to the last page of the Frontier Economics report that they sort of support—sort of—they would see that they themselves, in their report that they have paid for, acknowledge that border taxes are an option. You yourselves acknowledge that. I quote:

Options for reducing this risk both involve offsetting the loss of competitiveness of local products versus foreign substitutes ... these include:

• Border taxes to increase the costs of foreign produced goods.

So you are suggesting that the Prime Minister, in telling us what is factually correct, is somehow running a scare campaign when you yourselves, in your own modelling report, have alluded to the fact that this is a live issue. This really shows the extent to which those opposite are prepared to engage in fear and smear rather than dealing with the issue of climate change, rather than being responsible on an issue that is so important to the future of this nation.