Ms GILLARD (Lalor—Prime Minister) (14:08): Thank you very much, Mr Speaker. Can I say to the Leader of the Opposition's question I have always believed that we needed to price carbon, I have always believed that climate change was real and I have always believed that it was in the nation's interest to tackle climate change— Opposition members interjecting— The SPEAKER: Order! The Deputy Leader of the Opposition is warned. Ms GILLARD: Of course, I am answering the Leader of the Opposition's questions on the respective positions on pricing carbon. So on this side of the parliament I, as Prime Minister, am saying to the Australian people climate change is real—I have always believed that—and that to tackle climate change and cut carbon pollution the best way of doing that is pricing carbon—I have always believed that. And let us do the contrast on consistency with the Leader of the Opposition. He said on 9 June this year: '... in the end no-one is really convinced the best way to go is a carbon tax or an emissions trading scheme.' Now through those words what we have actually seen is a Leader of the Opposition who has become so negative, so addicted to negativity, that he is now, in fact, being negative about himself, because it is the Leader of the Opposition who has, at earlier points in time, advocated a price on carbon. Tony Abbott, Daily Telegraph blog, 19 December 2008: 'An emissions trading scheme probably is the best way to put a price on carbon.' Tony Abbott in 'A realist's approach to climate change', 27 July 2009: 'Still, a new tax would be the intelligent sceptic's way to deal with minimising emissions because it would be much easier than a property right to reduce or to abolish should the— Mr Abbott: Mr Speaker, on a point of order: the question was about what the Prime Minister said before the election, so her untruthful words before the election, and she should be called back to the question. The SPEAKER: The Leader of the Opposition knows that he has recharacterised his supplementary question and he has sailed very close to the wind both in the question and in the point of order. I indicate that after this question and response there will not be as much leniency as to both the questions and the responses. The Prime Minister has the call and she will be heard in silence. Ms GILLARD: On 27 November 2009 these words were spoken before the election by the Leader of the Opposition: 'You can't have a climate change policy without supporting this ETS at this time.' The Leader of the Opposition's track record, time after time on any given day, is to say what he thinks is in his political interest. Well, climate change is too profound a challenge to our planet and to our nation for him to wake up in the morning and work out, as the Leader of the Opposition does, what he thinks is in his narrow political interest that day. What we have to do, in cutting carbon pollution, is deal with the nation's interest, day after day after day, and the nation's interest requires us, with a high-carbon pollution emissions economy, to start the journey now towards a clean energy future. It requires us to do that in the most cost-effective way and, of course, the most cost-effective way is by putting a price on carbon. Now the Leader of the Opposition, day after day in this place, makes the mistake that if you bellow loud enough people will think you are right. Of course, what shows you are right is that you are prepared to step up and deal with the challenges of the future. Many members of his own political party are challenging him to do that and he should heed their calls. As he heeds their calls he should remember his own words and perhaps be guided by them: 'An emissions trading scheme probably is the best way to put a price on carbon'—never a truer word was spoken and the author: Tony Abbott.