David Feeney (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

My pleasure. So we have the former Leader of the Opposition revealing clearly and starkly the fact that those presently in command of the opposition, those presently in command of the alternative government of this country, are engaged in a policy which is about doing nothing, a policy which is about buying them time. It is a policy which is about them pretending that, so trying to look like, they care about action on climate change while they hope the whole issue disappears. It is a climate change con job.

That kind of conduct from the coalition is not the kind of stuff that would generally shock those of us on this side. That is par for the course, one might say. But what should not be forgotten is that in this task they have found themselves unlikely allies of the Greens party, who, by coming into this place and producing censure motions of this kind, do nothing more than assist the coalition in its continuing attempt to avoid serious scrutiny on these important issues. It has been suggested that the Greens party is doing this in an effort to gain publicity. Having quickly observed the media gallery above, I think that strategy has failed. But that is a matter for regret, not celebration, because the Greens party should be made as well to endure that sort of scrutiny about how it is that the lack of a carbon price in this country stands at their feet, the fact that the failure of the CPRS legislation to be passed was due to a decision that was made and ultimately they must bear responsibility for it.