Carol Brown (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I am quite interested in Senator Cormann's interjection, because of course it was the coalition who were running around the countryside indicating that the sky was going to fall in, that there were going to be towns closing down and jobs lost—and it has not happened. The scare campaign has not worked. We are 101 days in and all we have is Senator Cormann interjecting with a lot of rot.

On 1 July the Labor government's Clean Energy Future package came into effect and I am proud of our achievements in taking action on climate change and introducing the carbon price through our Clean Energy Future package. A carbon price is the most effective way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. A carbon price will also drive investment in clean technologies. Under our carbon pricing plan, Australia's biggest polluters will pay the carbon price. That is right: our plan has the big polluters paying the carbon price—not Australian households, as the coalition's plan would.

Whilst those opposite have been conducting the mother of all fear campaigns against the carbon price, it is worth remembering that many of those opposite have indeed stated their belief in climate change and in the need for a carbon price.

And, of course, the Leader of the Opposition, Mr Abbott, stated on Lateline on 2 October 2009:

We don't want to play games with the planet. So we are taking this issue seriously and we would like to see an ETS …

I would like to see Mr Abbott take this very serious issues seriously, because at the moment all Mr Abbott and the coalition have been doing is conducting a fear campaign designed to be of a political advantage to them.

Then there is Mr Turnbull, who on Q&A in July 2010 said:

You will not find an economist anywhere who will tell you anything other than the most efficient and effective way to cut emissions is by putting a price on carbon.

There are many more Liberal senators in this place who believe in placing a price on carbon and believe an ETS is the most effective way to cut greenhouse gas emissions.

Whilst those opposite will continue to wage their scare campaign against the carbon price, the fact remains that Australia has joined more than three-quarters of the world's advanced economies in tackling climate change with emissions trading schemes. The Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency has conducted an analysis showing that from 2013 there will be more than 50 national or subnational emissions trading schemes in place around the world. These schemes will cover a combined population of more than 850 million people and account for around 30 per cent of the global economy—or around 27 times the size of the Australian economy—in 2012. So we see that almost every advanced economy already has a carbon price or is putting one in place. From next year 850 million people will live in cities where polluters have to pay for their pollution.

While I am here I would like to touch on— (Time expired)