ABBOTT SHOULD LEAVE HIS DIRECT ACTION JOKE AT HOME

Media Release

Mark Butler

Shadow Minister for Environment

Climate Change and water

Date:  03 June 2014

The Prime Minister should be too embarrassed to take his joke Direct Action policy to discussions with United States President Barack Obama next week.

Overnight, President Obama took the latest in a series of steps towards meaningful action on climate change by releasing draft regulations for carbon pollution from existing power plants. These regulations complement existing policies for reducing carbon pollution from new power plants and transport.

“The United States is taking climate change seriously, while Tony Abbott refuses to face up to the science,” Shadow Climate Change Minister Mark Butler said.

In Question Time today, the Prime Minister tried to equate his Direct Action policy with President Obama’s “Clean Power Plan” – neglecting to mention that the Abbott Government’s plan contains no standards for polluters to comply with and has attracted no significant endorsement that it will be able to drive any meaningful reduction in Australia’s carbon pollution.

“There are no similarities between the US approach to climate change and the Abbott Government’s hopeless Direct Action policy.

“The US policy will likely underpin their emissions reduction target of 17% by 2020, while Tony Abbott has been unable to explain how Direct Action will achieve even a 5% reduction here in Australia,” Mr Butler said.

“For the Prime Minister to arrive at the White House with his sham policy only days after the US announces such an ambitious initiative is embarrassing for Australia.

“The US and other nations have been pressuring Australia to include climate change on the G20 agenda, while Tony Abbott resisted those requests. Now he’ll further embarrass Australia by parading his dressed up slush fund that no one thinks will make any difference to carbon pollution,” Mr Butler said.