TIME HAS COME FOR TONY ABBOTT TO START LISTENING

Mark Butler MP.

Shadow Minister for Environment 
 Climate Change and Water

Date:  07 July 2014

Tony Abbott is becoming increasingly isolated in his climate inaction, as new research and new voices support an emissions trading scheme.

"Today we've seen a large group of Australian's most eminent economists back a legal cap on carbon pollution and an underpinning pricing mechanism as the best climate change policy for Australia," Shadow Minister for Climate Change Mark Butler said.

“Labor’s position has not changed, we have voted to abolish the carbon tax and replace it with an Emissions Trading Scheme – we’ll do so again in the Senate.”

"The Government is bringing forth legislation which not only abolishes the carbon tax, but completely destroys the framework for Australia to have a cap on pollution and a market mechanism for businesses to operate within that cap," Mr Butler said.

"Tony Abbott is defying the advice of all of the country's experts, ignoring the will of Australians and pushing us further out of step with the rest of the world, including countries in our region, like China and South Korea, who are moving towards emissions trading schemes."

Research released by the Climate Institute today slams the Government's approach of paying big business to reduce their emissions. The research shows that without any meaningful safeguards or limits on pollution, the scheme will not meet its emissions reductions targets.

"This should not be news to Tony Abbott. Expert after expert has told the Government their scheme will be expensive and ineffective, yet they continue to plough ahead, ignoring this advice."

A group of more than 150 young Australians will gather at Parliament House today to tell the Prime Minister they want him to take climate change seriously.

"Tony Abbott ignores the experts, his own department and the actions of our biggest trading partners, but he shouldn't ignore the voices of the future."

"Australians deserve more than Tony Abbott’s half-hearted token gesture to address one of the biggest policy challenges in the world," Mr Butler said.