Doorstop Interview, Sydney
Posted on Sunday, 31 July 2011
Subject: National Tree Day; Coalition’s Direct Action Policy; Julia Gillard’s carbon tax; Malaysia people swap deal.
E&OE……………………….……………………………………………………………
TONY ABBOTT:
Well, welcome to Mosman, welcome to Georges Heights and to Middle Head, this is a particularly beautiful part of the world, it’s a particularly beautiful part of my electorate and I want to say that I feel a particular bond with this land and this work because a lot of the work of the Sydney Harbour Federation Trust, which the former government and the local member was instrumental in establishing, has really picked up this area.
Today I was involved in some tree planting as part of National Tree Day. It’s great to see the practical environmental spirit of the Australian people. Tens of thousands of Australians would have been out today planting trees, doing the right thing by their local environment and it was good to be part of this tree planing exercise organised by Mosman Council, which has done some really good work here behind Rawson Park.
Of course the Coalition is committed to practical environmentalism. Twenty million trees is part of our Direct Action Policy to reduce emissions. As people I hope have well and truly come to understand by now, while trees are growing they absorb carbon dioxide and they’re able to make a significant contribution to the reduction of emissions. Another aspect of the Coalition’s policy which will help with work such as this is our Green Army because anyone who has walked around Sydney’s remnant bushland, as I have, would know how degraded much of it is. Really the only way to restore degraded bushland is with a serious application of skilled and committed labour and that’s the kind of thing that the Green Army can provide.
So, while the Prime Minister is talking about a carbon tax, which is just a penalty, the Coalition is talking about positive measures to boost our environment and I have to say that practical environmentalism has really gone backwards over the last couple of years since the Rudd/Gillard Government started talking about big new taxes in the name of the environment.
I want to say to the Prime Minister that if she is as convinced as she says she is that a carbon tax is the way to go, if she believes that a carbon tax has the kind of support that she claims to believe, she shouldn’t be shy of an election and I say to the Prime Minister; if you think the package is that good, take it to the people at an election. That’s my challenge. If it’s a good package, don’t hide from the public, take your package to the people at an election.
Now, the other point I should make is that we’ve had another boat arrive today. The ink is barely dry on the Malaysian people swap and a boat arrives and I say to the Government; they can’t guarantee that all of these people will go to Malaysia, but I could guarantee that everyone from any new boat would go to Nauru because Nauru is happy to accept everyone who arrives here, whereas the Malaysians still want to exercise a veto over who goes there. But the point is; the ink is scarcely dry on this deal before yet another boat arrives and I am very doubtful that this really is going to stop the boats.
QUESTION:
On the carbon tax, is it embarrassing for you and the Coalition that British Prime Minister David Cameron has sent a letter to Julia Gillard endorsing the carbon tax, saying it’s a bold and ambitious plan?
TONY ABBOTT:
Well, I make a couple of points. First of all she told us that it was necessary to do this to catch up with the rest of the world. In fact what this does it puts us way out in front of the rest of world and that’s what David Cameron’s letter suggests. Second point I make is that the British have given themselves an out clause, they will only proceed with further deep cuts in emissions if on review they find that the rest of the world is similarly proceeding with deep cuts.
The final point I make is that Britain is a very different country, it’s a very different economy. Britain has deindustrialised over the last generation. Britain has exported its emissions to the countries which now do its manufacturing for it. We are a resource intensive economy. We’re an economy that produces an abundance of coal and gas. We want to be a manufacturing society. What’s appropriate for Britain is not necessarily appropriate for us.
QUESTION:
Is David Cameron somebody of clout though you would listen to?
TONY ABBOTT:
I listen to all sorts of people, but the fact of the matter is if the Prime Minister is as convinced as she says she is that this is the right thing, let’s have an election, let’s have an election. If she thinks that what she says is an endorsement is so significant, let her now call an election on the back of it.
QUESTION:
But is this sort of endorsement going to cause factions within the Coalition?
TONY ABBOTT:
Look, we are completely convinced that the last thing Australia needs is a big new tax at this time. The world’s economy is quite fragile, there have been massive increases in prices, the forgotten families of Australia are suffering from more and more cost of living pressure and this Prime Minister of ours is just going to make it worse with her carbon tax.
Let’s not forget that electricity prices have risen by 51 per cent on average right around Australia over the last three years, this Prime Minister wants to make that worse. She wants to put an immediate 10 per cent hike on your power bill, that’s in accordance with Treasury modelling, but if you listen to the New South Wales Treasury, it says that the immediate hike in power prices will be 20 per cent, not 10 per cent.
QUESTION:
Will Malcolm Turnbull be told to reign in his comments on climate change?
TONY ABBOTT:
I am very happy to have all of my Shadow Ministers out there. All of my Shadow Ministers support the Coalition policy and they’ve all got a job to do promoting our policy.
QUESTION:
Greg Combet says that attacks on scientists and economists is just fear mongering and that it’s time to let go of that and move on, what’s your response to that?
TONY ABBOTT:
Well, I agree, it’s very wrong to attack scientists and no one on the Coalition side is doing that.
QUESTION:
Last week you said it's Malcolm’s job to talk about communications, how frustrated are you that Malcolm Turnbull keeps talking about climate change?
TONY ABBOTT:
What all of my Shadow Ministers are doing is talking about the Coalition’s policy and we have a very strong and effective policy to deal with climate change. We are completely committed to the five per cent emissions reduction target by 2020. We have a policy that will get us there. We have a policy that will actually go out and achieve abatements, the Government doesn’t.
I mean the interesting thing about the Government’s policy is that if you look at their own figures our emissions will actually increase with the carbon tax – they will go up from 578 million tonnes a year now, to 621 million tonnes in 2020 and the only way they’re actually going to achieve the emissions abatement target is by spending $3.5 billion abroad with foreign carbon traders.
Now, not only are they going into [inaudible] to foreign carbon traders by 2020, the situation is just going to get worse by 2050. I mean with the carbon tax going up to $131 a tonne on the Government’s own figures our domestic emissions remain 545 million tonnes a year by 2050. So, they’re 578 million tonnes now, with a $29 a tonne carbon price, they’re going to go up to 621 million tonnes and with a $131 a tonne carbon price they’re only going to go down to 545 million tonnes. In other words they’re going to have to buy some 400 million tonnes of abatement abroad. Now, that’s going to cost them $57 billion going off to foreign carbon traders by 2050.
QUESTION:
This kind of letter from your conservative counterparts in the UK though, that can’t really help your cause can it? Does it disappoint you that this has come out?
TONY ABBOTT:
As I said Britain is a very different country. What’s right for Britain is not necessarily right for Australia and you know it’s interesting that the Labor Party now wants to engage in a bit of cultural cringe to the old country. I have great respect for Britain but I don’t think that everything that’s done in Britain should necessarily be slavishly copied here in Australia.
QUESTION:
Well, David Cameron he talked to Malcolm Turnbull before the last Liberal Party leadership change and David Cameron told Malcolm Turnbull to go hard on supporting an emissions trading scheme, so will this David Cameron letter stir more tensions within the Coalition between you and Malcolm Turnbull?
TONY ABBOTT:
Look, as I said what’s right for Britain is not necessarily right for Australia. I’m happy to deal with other subjects, are there any other questions?
QUESTION:
How do you feel about Labor possibly dumping Mike Rann as Premier by the end of this week?
TONY ABBOTT:
I think there are a lot of Labor leaders who are very insecure in their positions at the moment. I think that there are an enormous number of Labor backbenchers who feel that Julia Gillard is leading the party to a disaster. I think there’s an enormous number of Labor backbenchers in mining seats, in manufacturing seats, in motor vehicle manufacturing seats who feel that this tax is toxic, that it is going to cost jobs big time in their electorate. I mean the thing about this carbon tax is that it won’t clean up the environment, it will clean out your wallet and it will wipe out jobs big time. So, I think Mike Rann is not the only Labor leader who would be feeling very insecure this week.
QUESTION:
On the Malaysia deal, are you concerned by the possibility that some refugees that are sent back to Malaysia could actually come back here, what’s your response to that?
TONY ABBOTT:
My problem with the Malaysian deal is that there is a much better deal available, a much better deal available. It won’t cost as much, it doesn’t involve a five for one swap arrangement, it doesn’t involve the third country having a power of veto over who goes there.
The Nauru deal is a much better deal than the Malaysian deal and the only reason why the Prime Minister wouldn’t pick up the phone to the President of Nauru is because that would be a final and humiliating admission of failure on her part. I mean she knows that her policies have been a complete utter abject failure. The only policy that we all know would work is the one policy that she won’t adopt and that is Nauru.
Thank you.
[ends]