ABBOTT'S SMOKESCREEN WON'T HIDE INACTION

Media Release

Mark Butler MP.

Shadow Minister for Environment
Climate Change and Water

Date:  29 March 2015

Tony Abbott’s fancy policy title and blatant number fudging doesn’t disguise his determination to do nothing about reducing Australia’s carbon pollution. 

The Government’s issues paper on Australia’s post-2020 emissions reduction target is just more discussion about how Tony Abbott can avoid doing anything meaningful about climate change.

It shows the Government is fiddling around the edges of Australia’s long-held international commitments of reducing carbon pollution by five per cent on 2000 levels by 2020, but doing little else by way of effective climate change action.  

“No amount of fudging the numbers will be able to hide the fact that Tony Abbott has no plan to deal with the threat of climate change,” Shadow Minister for Climate Change Mark Butler said.  

“As the biggest polluter per capita in the OECD, Australia has an obligation to enter the Paris negotiations later this year with genuine pollution reduction ambitions. 

“Yet, Tony Abbott’s contributions to this policy area have been attacking the renewable energy industry, establishing a multi-billion dollar polluters’ slush fund and removing Australia’s legal cap on pollution. 

"The impact of the Liberals' attack of the Renewable Energy Target can't be underestimated - investment in renewable energy in Australia is down  a massive 80 per cent and jobs are being lost.“The Government’s Direct Action policy for climate change was best described by Malcolm Turnbull when he said it was an environmental fig-leaf designed to disguise a determination to do nothing. 

“It’s a complete waste of tax-payers’ money and will do nothing to reduce Australia’s carbon pollution. 

“Tony Abbott should put the same effort into taking real action as he does to trying to trick Australians that he cares about their environmental and economic future security,” Mr Butler said.