MACDONALD LEADS OFF ON ETS DEBATE

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North Queensland based Liberal Senator and Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Northern Australia, Senator Ian Macdonald today led off the debate on the Rudd Government’s Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme.

Senator Macdonald said that the Government was in complete disarray over the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS).

“The Government has presented to the Senate for Debate as an urgent measure, exactly the same Bill that was comprehensively rejected by the Senate three months ago.

“The Government’s mismanagement of the Senate program and its inability to get its house in order with legislation it brings forward, means that for almost a week the Senate will be debating a Bill which, according to media reports, will not be the Bill the Senate is asked to vote upon before the end of next week.

“Because Labor has scheduled the shortest sitting year in almost a decade, it now finds itself with insufficient time to properly debate Bills it knew would be coming forward almost a year ago.

“The action of the Labor government shows that they are treating the whole emissions trading debate with disdain. It is a farce.

“The Bill, as it is currently presented, will do nothing to arrest climate change and will have absolutely no impact on the Barrier Reef, severe climatic conditions or, in fact, anything!

“With Australia emitting less than 1.4% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions nothing Australia does will have any impact on the changing climate of the world.

“And the Bill before the Senate would reduce emissions by just 0.2%. A reduction of that magnitude will have absolutely no impact on the Barrier Reef or severe climatic conditions.

“But what the Bill will do is destroy tens of thousands of jobs, many of them in Northern Australia.

“It will also have a negative environmental impact in that, by taxing Australia’s industries while our competitors are not taxed, multi-national companies will establish their manufacturing and metals processing plants overseas. It will mean Australian coal mines will become uncompetitive against our competitors in South Africa, Columbia and Indonesia.

“And it is becoming increasingly clear that the Copenhagen conference, which Mr Rudd had been talking up as an important step in Global Agreement on emissions trading, is turning into nothing more than a farcical talkfest.

“I, like most Australians, believe the government should wait until after Copenhagen to see what other countries are going to do before determining Australia’s position.

A copy of Senator Macdonald’s speech is available by clicking the link below

END

18 November 2009    Media contact Gordon Terry (07) 4771 3066 or  0427 960 255                                           

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