Mr TIM WILSON (Goldstein—Assistant Minister to the Minister for Industry, Energy and Emissions Reduction) (15:23): It's very good to be able to speak on this important motion, because what the Leader of the Opposition has just outlined is his commitment to failure. He attacks, for instance, those people who say we should have an international treaty that includes the world's largest emitters. I am resolutely proud that I want China to be part of the global solution. I want the United States to be part of the global solution. Heck, I even want New Zealand to be part of the global solution. They all ran away from the Kyoto protocol. When it comes to the Leader of the Opposition, he takes more of a Donald Trump approach to engagement in international fora than this side of the chamber—a government which focuses clearly on how we bring the rest of the world to follow our leadership. That's what we saw yesterday, when, for the first time, Australia had, yes, a 2050 target as a nation. Yes, we then had a time frame for the delivery of that target of net zero. But, more critically, for the first time in Australian history we had a comprehensive plan on how we were going to achieve it. We are proud of that as a government because (1) we take our approach to climate change very seriously and (2) what we have understood at every point is that Australians want action on climate change but they don't want to lose their jobs. They don't want the government to burn down the village to save it, as the Australian Greens would have us do. They want to know the government is on their side, to work with business, industry and households to be part of the solution. That's why we've taken a balanced approach and, more critically, taken an Australian approach—the Australian way of reducing our greenhouse gas missions while also making sure we back Australians and their jobs. I was only reminded of this yesterday. Late last night, I did an interview on BBC World, and in a particularly shrill and hostile interview—from the interviewer—they kept asking why I kept arguing for an Australian solution to this problem. Eventually I had to break it to her that they haven't factored in the affordability of energy as part of their plan and there are millions of people in northern Europe who are at risk of high energy prices, and that now, in the lead-up to winter, there's a very serious risk that northern Europeans will literally die in the tens of thousands because they have not got access to affordable energy—and that that is not our solution. That is not our approach. But it is the approach of one group of people, which includes the Australian Labor Party, who are more interested in cutting emissions without any consideration of the consequences than this side of the chamber is. We're focused on what we need to do to build the future Australian economy, cut emissions and be part of taking responsibility through a global solution. We heard this explicitly today from the independent member for Warringah, who moved a motion to bring forward her bill. What she said in that speech, I've got to say, was profoundly enlightening and extremely disturbing. She said explicitly that the objective of her motion was to introduce a bill that would take the decision-making away from duly elected representatives. I saw members on the other side of this chamber nodding along with the independent member for Warringah about that policy because what they want to do is introduce targets in legislation so they can empower bureaucrats to veto the decisions of this very parliament. It is not something that we are ever prepared to accept. We saw this before in the independent member for Warringah's bill that she introduced last year, which literally would have empowered the appointment of climate tsars to veto the decisions of this parliament. There is nothing more antidemocratic. And now the Labor Party want to do the same, because what they want is legislation that activists can use in the courts to override the decisions of this parliament—and we will not stand for it. We want to make sure we deliver a solution for the Australian people. And what matters in this debate isn't intent; it's outcomes. Without a legislated target, this government hasn't just reached a 20.8 per cent emissions reduction on 2005 levels; more critically, the OECD average for emissions reduction over the same time frame is only seven per cent. So we're beating it by a factor of three. In the 130-page comprehensive plan we released yesterday, the updated projections show we'd reach a 35 per cent reduction in emissions by 2030. At the same time the Labor Party hasn't even got a plan. Let's not even talk about when you're going to legislate. You don't even have one and you don't even have a target. How can you legislate air, nothing? You on the other side of the chamber have got nothing to offer. What we're doing is delivering that plan and making sure we cut emissions along the way. This morning, in the motion where the independent member for Warringah wanted to introduce her democracy-attacking bill, the member for McMahon came up here and attacked the government for exactly the same reason the Leader of the Opposition did just moments ago. Now, we all remember the member for McMahon from the last election, when he managed to elevate himself to the pantheon of Labor greats for quotes—like Paul Keating, who said it was the 'recession we had to have'; like Kevin Rudd, who said climate change was the greatest moral challenge of our time, only weeks later abandoning his very commitment and his signature policy, such was his commitment; or, of course, like Julia Gillard, who said before an election, 'There will be no carbon tax under a government I lead,' only to introduce one after she did a sneaky deal with the Greens to form a coalition government. And, before the last election, the member for McMahon was one of those Labor greats, and it will always go down in the history of quotes: 'You are perfectly entitled to vote against us if you don't agree with our policy.' Mr Connelly: Hear, hear! Mr TIM WILSON: One hundred per cent right, to the member for Stirling! He remembers that moment clearly, as all the members on this side of the chamber do, because it was the time that the member for McMahon gave permission to millions of Australians who he wanted to push below the poverty line to say, 'Don't vote for us,' and, 'We agree.' Let's remember what the member for McMahon did before the last election. He came after Australian retirees and tried to slash their incomes by over 30 per cent by the introduction of a retiree tax. He failed, and we know on this side of the chamber he failed. But now he's come back with a vengeance where he wants to increase the nation's retirees' bills, particularly their electricity bills. There is simply no empathy or understanding of the impact of what he proposes on the Australian people, including some of the most vulnerable. We see it very clearly in this chamber every time he gets up to the dispatch box. The DEPUTY SPEAKER: The assistant minister will pause for a moment. The member for Wills is seeking the call. Mr Khalil: A point of order on relevance: the member for Goldstein is talking about economic policies that have nothing to do with this MPI. The DEPUTY SPEAKER: There's no point of order. Continue. Mr TIM WILSON: I do thank the member for his interjection, because it shows how tin eared they are of the economic consequences of their decisions. But what we know is the member for McMahon went after the incomes of Australian retirees at the last election and failed. Now he is doing what he can to increase the electricity bills of Australian retirees, should they win the next election. At every point it's an assault and a tax that they seek to promote, because what it does is it empowers the Labor Party at the expense of average Australians. That's why they want a legislated target. They want a legislated target, because it gives them a back door to achieve every single policy agenda that they could. You just need to look at what's happening in the United Kingdom right now. It's not just that there is a genuine threat with a tin ear to the economic consequences of environmental policies that make sure that Britons can't heat their homes but that activists are now using the courts to stop infrastructure development, the building of roads in communities and anything they don't like. And, sadly, we've seen similar behaviour here in this country, where activists have sought to use courts to stop projects and stop development and, frankly, stop job creation in this nation. And we know they'll do it against many of the wealth creating sectors of this country. I'm sure the member opposite, who I have no doubt is about to speak, will be able to tell you how often legal pathways are used to try and shut down investments in Australian economic growth. Of course she will run interference and defend it every step of the way in pursuit of their legislated target, but what they won't understand are the human consequences of what they propose. This side of the chamber stands by the Australian people, this side of the chamber seeks democratic endorsement for its work, this side of the chamber backs the creation of jobs and this side of the chamber wants to cut emissions too. (Time expired)