16-December-2008
Portfolio Media Releases, Emissions Trading Scheme
LYNDAL CURTIS: An ETS is not a new thing to your side of politics. Malcolm Turnbull was environment minister when the Howard Government had a look at an ETS. You must have some idea whether as a first brush response whether you think it is achievable, whether five per cent is the right target in the early stages?
ANDREW ROBB: The theory of an ETS has been around for a long time but the practice is not and getting the scheme designed to be practical. There are lots of ways you can go about an emissions trading scheme and we've got to look you know at the way in which the Government has structured this proposal.
The Green paper, the devil was in the detail. We discovered and many industries discovered that they would be not competitive if that scheme had gone ahead.
LYNDAL CURTIS: The Government's addressed some of those concerns by making the concessions more generous though?
ANDREW ROBB: Well again we don't know the detail of that, I do know already that there are many, many industries that saw themselves uncompetitive have received little, if any assistance in this package. But we've got to spend some time to look at that, this is too important. This is one of the most major structural changes in Australia's history in the country and we've got a situation where the Government has not modelled the impact of the financial meltdown, they have not modelled the impact of other major emitting countries not engaging with us.
These things need to be thought through or otherwise we could stumble into a scheme which once it's in place you'll never get rid of it and we've got to get it right.
LYNDAL CURTIS: Do you believe that the Government's going to look to you for negotiations for the legislation to pass the Senate rather than the Greens?
ANDREW ROBB: Look I don't, it's too early for all of that. I think the first thing that we must do is to properly and in a considered way look at the full extent of this. It must be approached in a very rational and sensible way, not in an emotive way. The emotion that's swirling around out there at the moment is just ridiculous.
LYNDAL CURTIS: The National party has already gone out quite hard on the scheme; Barnaby Joyce says it does nothing for climate change and Warren Truss says the complexity of the scheme would make it a nightmare beyond any economic reform seen in this country.
Do you think there will be trouble holding the Coalition together on this issue?
ANDREW ROBB: No I don't, no look I agree; this is hugely complex. That's why we want to take some time, that's why we've sought to get an independent economic research group to thoroughly consider this and give us some advice. A five per cent target, that and much more is imminently doable if the rest of the world is involved but we want to assess what impact if the rest of the world is not involved.
If this thing doesn't work properly, we'll not only lose community support in Australia but it will also have an impact, an adverse impact on impressions towards an emissions trading scheme by many other countries around the world.
LYNDAL CURTIS: So would your preference be to vote for it in some form rather than not vote for it at all because there would be a political risk wouldn't there, that you could go to an election in late 2020 or early 2011 not supporting the Government's ETS?
ANDREW ROBB: Look it's all too premature; the first thing is to get this scheme right. It is of such major consequence, it's potential to you know undermine the economic strength of Australia is enormous if we don't get it right.
We have to be able to work from a position of economic strength if we want to best tackle climate change.
LYNDAL CURTIS: Does the timing of the next election though provide political risks for both yourself and for the Government?
ANDREW ROBB: Well look I think in the first instance you've got to put almost the politics aside and look at the veracity of the scheme. Once we've decided on what's a right design, what is the most appropriate way to go about this, then we can look at the politics.
LYNDAL CURTIS: The Greens have proposed an immediate Senate inquiry into both the five per cent target and into the question of how much of the burden Australia should share. Will you back a Senate inquiry before the legislation's in the Parliament?
ANDREW ROBB: We'd certainly be keen to progress any sort of assessment as quickly as possible, that's why we've commissioned an independent report. If the Greens want a Senate inquiry I'm sure that we wouldn't stand in its way. We certainly ourselves will be looking to have the Senate look in, in a most exhaustive way at what the government has put on the table.
ELEANOR HALL: That's the Opposition's climate change spokesman Andrew Robb speaking to Lyndal Curtis in Canberra.
Media Contact: Stuart Eaton, 0433 298 620