2nd Dec 2019, 4:36 PM – Senate Motions - Climate Change - Work together

The majority voted against a motion introduced by Tasmanian Senator Anne Urquhart (Labor) at the request of SA Senator Penny Wong (Labor), which means it failed.

Motion text

That the Senate—

(a) notes that:

(i) 2 December 2019 marks ten years since the Senate failed to pass legislation for a comprehensive economy-wide climate change policy, the Rudd Labor Government's Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme (CPRS),

(ii) implementation of the CPRS would have resulted in Australia's greenhouse gas emissions being between 27 and 81 million tonnes lower in 2020 than currently projected, would have delivered additional cumulative abatement of between 63 and 218 million tonnes over the last 10 years, and would have placed Australian emissions on a sustained and long-term downward trajectory,

(iii) in addition to Labor senators, the CPRS bills were supported by Liberal Senators Boyce and Troeth,

(iv) despite the constructive negotiations engaged in by Mr Turnbull and Mr Macfarlane, the Liberals and the Nationals opposed the bills under the leadership of Mr Abbott, and

(v) the Australian Greens joined with the Liberals and the Nationals, and also opposed the CPRS, guaranteeing its defeat;

(b) recognises the decision by the Liberals, the Nationals and the Australian Greens to join together to oppose the CPRS precipitated:

(i) a breakdown in consensus on policy in Australia to address the challenges of climate change, and

(ii) a decade of policy instability preventing necessary investment in energy infrastructure leading to increases in energy prices and increased emissions; and

(c) calls on all parties to end the political opportunism and work together to agree an enduring solution to the challenges of climate change.