http://www.abc.net.au/worldtoday/content/2011/s3272550.htm

 

ELEANOR HALL: The Prime Minister today went on the attack against Tony Abbott over climate change, accusing him of walking away from a bipartisan commitment on addressing global warming, and aligning himself with climate sceptics.
The Federal Opposition insists it remains committed to cutting Australia's greenhouse gas emissions by five per cent by 2020, but yesterday Tony Abbott described that target as "crazy".
This morning, Naomi Woodley spoke to the Opposition's climate spokesman Greg Hunt and asked him to explain the contradiction.
NAOMI WOODLEY: Greg Hunt, is the Coalition committed to a five per cent reduction in emissions by 2020?
GREG HUNT: Yes we are. Our approach is clear and absolute and we believe that there is dramatically better way than a massive carbon tax to achieve reductions through targeted focus on cleaning things up. To attack it through a carbon tax in a world with no carbon tax is as Tony Abbott said crazy and we however have a clear, absolute commitment to the five per cent reduction, the difference is though that we're not trying to pretend the world is a different world from the reality.
The Government has based its entire policy on an imagined international response which simply doesn't exist.
NAOMI WOODLEY: But hasn't Tony Abbott caused some confusion around your goal when he said as you say yesterday, he said that it was crazy for Australia to be aiming for that reduction, noting that the Chinese are proposing to increase their emissions by 500 per cent. Hasn't he muddied the waters so to speak?
GREG HUNT: With respect, no. Tony's approach, our approach, is very clear. To achieve the five per cent reduction through direct action by focusing on targeted reductions where you can reduce emissions at the lowest cost. To use a carbon tax against an imagined international response is crazy because it will simply send jobs and emissions offshore.
NAOMI WOODLEY: The Government though says that that statement by Tony Abbott yesterday shows that your policy is contradictory, that is shows that he is not really committed - he, Mr Abbott, is not really committed to cutting emissions at all.
GREG HUNT: I think the Prime Minister has become vaguely desperate I'm sorry to say. It's a little bit sad to see an Australian prime minister clutching at straws with a degree of desperation. Our approach is very clear, achieve a five per cent reduction through direct action to reduce emissions but to pretend that a carbon tax will operate in a global carbon tax environment is crazy because it's simply misleading and deceptive conduct.
There is no Chinese carbon tax, there is no Indian carbon tax, there is no economy-wide American carbon tax or equivalent and nor is there one in Canada, Japan, Korea and nothing from the same galaxy in Europe.
NAOMI WOODLEY: Does everyone in the Coalition share the goal of that five per cent target?
GREG HUNT: That is our clear Coalition-wide commitment. That is our policy, that is our objective, that is our commitment.
NAOMI WOODLEY: But you've got people like the Nationals Senate Leader, Barnaby Joyce, calling the Government's aim to get to five per cent a gesture - surely that must apply to the interpretation of your policy as well?
GREG HUNT: Well we will achieve our target and the point about our approach is, whether you believe or disbelieve in climate change, you can support our approach. But we do it in order to reduce our emissions. But we also increase our soil carbons, we increase our soil productivity, we increase our water productivity as well as increasing clean air in areas around landfill or waste coal mine gas. Real things that reduce emissions that you would want to do irrespective or where you stand and in any event.
ELEANOR HALL: That's the Opposition's climate spokesman Greg Hunt, speaking to Naomi Woodley in Canberra.