Does Labor really want an ETS?
13th August, 2009
Act I of the Government’s tawdry display of political partisanship on an emissions trading scheme is now over and the Government should be more genuine and less arrogant in Act II. The Leader of The Nationals, Warren Truss, said if the Rudd Government really wants a workable ETS operating, it needs to scrap this rabid dog it calls a Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme.
“Labor’s CPRS would cost thousands of Australian jobs, increase dramatically our cost of living but not do anything to reduce emissions,” Mr Truss said.
“Labor needs to go to Copenhagen in December and work on a co-operative international response to climate change, because only a global solution can deal with a global problem.
“It then needs to sit down with all involved parties to work through the issues of climate change and its impact on Australia.
“And finally, Rudd Labor needs to end its jihad on the coal industry, agriculture and other sectors, and reject actions that will cost jobs and investment, particularly in regional areas.
“The Nationals will never support Labor’s CPRS – no matter how many times they bring it back to the Parliament.
“Labor has not listened to any of the concerns in the community about its CPRS. Despite weeks of debate, the Climate Change Minister Penny Wong was still claiming in the Senate today that agriculture was no going to be affected by the CPRS. What a crock.
“Senator Wong and her Labor colleagues have forgotten that inputs into production are going to be heavily taxed, and much of agriculture is heavily energy intensive.
“It is this sort of ignorance, wilful or otherwise, that shows just how dangerous Labor’s approach has been. Labor’s knows that its CPRS legislation contains serious flaws and drafting errors but has refused to countenance amendments of any kind.
“The Coalition has shown goodwill and vision by offering bipartisan support for emission reduction targets for Australia to take to Copenhagen. That is all the United Nations expects of countries at Copenhagen,” Mr Truss said.
