Sunday 20 July 2008

Tony Abbott's take on an emissions trading scheme

Tony Abbott was a one stop ride when asked about the Rudd Government's emissions trading scheme on ABC Lateline last Friday.
However, you just have to admire Tone's dogged persistence at getting across his 'message' and managing a gratuitous mention of Evans' dodgy opinion [See
WaterDragon's post].
According to Tone the Moan, Penny Wong all but stole the emissions trading scheme, lock, stock and barrel, from the former Coalition government.

Somehow I think Abbott's words may come back to haunt him during the next parliamentary sitting period.

TONY ABBOTT: Well, no. Well, no, I'm not. I mean, these are the guys - it's the Rudd Government that wants to take a Howard Government program and rush it into practice and no doubt maladminister it, even though the science is evolving. These are the guys that are going to muck things up and I think it's only right and proper that they should be held to account and put on the spot....
TONY ABBOTT: Well, I mean, the now Government says that the Coalition doesn't take this issue seriously and yet they've actually taken up the Howard Government's plan, except they want to rush it in too early, even though the situation is evolving. Now ...
TONY ABBOTT: Because the emissions trading system that Labor is proposing is essentially a carbon copy of what the Howard Government proposed only we wanted to wait and see what happened until 2012. We didn't want to rush it in as an act of theology in just a couple of years' time, when the expert advice that we got was that it was impossible to bring in an emissions trading system safely and fairly in the time frame that Labor is now pursuing...
TONY ABBOTT: So did you read the article by David Evans in the paper today? ...
VIRGINIA TRIOLI: Tony Abbott, you're ducking and weaving here, I mean...
TONY ABBOTT: No, no, no, no, no, no, no, I...
VIRGINIA TRIOLI: Yeah, but there's enough out there at least for you to say, "No, that won't work, this will?"
TONY ABBOTT: Well, as I said, it's not for us - I mean, the Howard Government put forward a policy. Essentially it's been adopted by the Government.

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