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Member for Grey Rowan Ramsey has said the artificial timeframe being forced on the Australian Parliament by Kevin Rudd to pass his ETS before the end of the year for no better reason than his desire to strut the world stage, in the end, was a step too far for the Liberal Party.
“The Liberal Party has agreed to the CO2 emission reduction targets Kevin Rudd will take to Copenhagen but it is not in the nation’s interest to lock ourselves into legislating the mechanisms of this process before we see the models to be used by the largest emitters like the US and China,” he said.
“The election of Tony Abbott to lead the Federal Liberal Party occurred because we could not justify the timeframe Kevin Rudd has been demanding the Parliament meet and has brought unity to the Coalition.
“ The amendments wrung from the government under Malcolm Turnbull have greatly improved the bill and may end up being the basis of our response, but we simply will not know if we have a relevant model until the big emitters come on board.
“The amendments have improved the lot of farmers, consumers and industry, but the risks of cementing in a 120 billion tax, without international cooperation is too high. As an example, it is estimated power prices will rise by 25-30%. We need to be sure this is most cost effective way of achieving CO2 reductions before we signed off. Instead the government demanded we pass this enormous piece of legislation in days.
“The Labor model locks us into a course of action that once instigated would be near impossible to alter and imposes $12bn of taxes a year on our industries. Sending industry off shore will do nothing for the planet if the big emitters have not introduced similar schemes. To be ahead of the rest of the world on this important issue is not sensible, the rush is more to do with Kevin Rudd being a big shot to the rest of the world while playing with our jobs and money.
“The Liberal Party is committed to reducing our CO2 emissions, most including me recognise the reality of the issue and the urgency for action but we can do nothing alone. If the US fails to reach agreement on a scheme, or designs one with significant differences we will be left high and dry.
“It has taken the events of the last two weeks to finally focus people on the impacts of this new tax on their lives, and what they are now telling us is that they don’t understand what this new tax is or how it is supposed to make a real difference to the planet. If the government wants to lead the nation they must take the people with them.
“The potential impacts on major local employers like Nystar, Onesteel and the Northern Power station leading to the loss of jobs and investment are very real and we can’t afford to put them at a competitive disadvantage in the world market. I am not prepared to take unnecessary risks with these industries and the cities that rely on them.
“Action on climate change in isolation can only lead to the export of our jobs.”
Media Contact: Leonie Lloyd-Smith (08) 8633 1734
December 2, 2009
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