I rise today to speak in support of the repeal of the Clean Energy Bill. When we first began debating the carbon tax in this body, a multitude of promises were made by its proponents. Government rarely keeps its promises. And government is rarely held accountable. The adverse effects on businesses were predicted to be slight, but the emissions trading scheme has proved to be an unnatural and destructive force. Since its inception, the scheme has not resulted in a reduction in emissions that could not be attributed to slack demand, not improved the environment to any measurable degree, and not created an alternative energy industry that can stand on its own and meet Australia’s energy needs. Instead, the Clean Energy Plan has resulted in a misallocation of resources in make-believe markets. Electricity prices before the carbon tax already encouraged conservation. There is no better example of profligacy than a government program, and the Clean Energy Regulator and Climate Commission have increased the size of a wasteful bureaucracy

History has shown that government policies do not alleviate societal problems. Government exacerbates them. The carbon tax is an additional cost of doing business that must be paid and then passed on to the consumers of the taxed businesses. Not only does it punish success, it establishes a market for carbon trading that benefits the cronies of big government. The price we must pay goes far beyond the initial tax, it reverberates through society at all levels of production. These higher costs are ultimately passed down to consumers. The carbon tax amounts to a tax on consumption in an effort to increase conservation, but it is a tax on production that greatly reduces the profit margin and hence the profit motive, further inhibiting economic growth. The crux of the matter is the costs pertaining to limiting the emission of carbon dioxide far outweigh the benefits. This hyper-regulation forced the existence of an alternative market that is not viable. A fine line separates success from failure in business. Small businesses especially have little margin for error as do the agriculture and mining in rural areas like my home district. Only a few hundred companies are directly taxed, but together they serve almost every home and business in Australia.

There is no hard evidence of anthropomorphic climate warming – I’m going to continue calling it climate warming because you don’t get to change the terminology just because you’re losing the argument. There is a geological record spanning billions of years during which the climate warmed dramatically without Man’s presence on the planet. If we know the climate warmed without us, why should we blame any current warming on ourselves without question? Should we pollute the environment with substances that will sicken us? Of course not. But we’re talking about carbon dioxide. The data show there has been no warming for the past 15 years. Who could deny the climate is changing, day to day, week to week, year to year? But the trend data are nothing to be alarmed about. That’s why the so-called scientists in East Anglia were caught cooking the books a few years ago, an epic scandal. If there is a consensus on global warming, it is building in the opposite direction. The proponents of tolerance and diversity of thought have no tolerance for the truth it turns out because their so-called evidence does not hold up to scrutiny. Green is the new red, it appears. And climate trading schemes are attempts at wealth redistribution on the largest scale imaginable. The goal is to punish the producers in our society as a means of increasing the power and influence of government. The true aim of the climate lobby is to separate you from your money. The only thing Man-made about global warming is the hoax itself – a way for the Left to tax everyone just for living, which is why they  seek to define carbon dioxide as a “greenhouse gas.”

The energy sector is the most critical because it literally powers our economy. Alternative sources are not viable because they cannot produce adequate amounts of energy at a competitive price, they are not cost-efficient. If financial resources are diverted from more productive areas of the economy, we all suffer. They must be subsidized by the government, meaning by the people. The notion that you can foster some industries at the expense of others is a false premise. Those on the Left believe that capitalism exploits the less fortunate. Nothing could be further from the truth. Capitalism is not a zero sum game. The pie is not fixed or limited. Traditional sources of energy like oil, gas, and coal are sustainable with the advent of new technologies ability to extract oil and gas from shale and rock. New technologies already exist or are coming on line to extract these resources without harming the environment. Technology has also made the internal combustion engine cleaner by 90 percent. The real markets are for oil, gas, and coal. These industries remain profitable, viable, and valued because their products are needed and offered at reasonable prices.

Under the guise of environmental stewardship, corrupt foreign interests are subverting our domestic economy. Australia is a sovereign nation. How can we allow ourselves to be beholden to those while claiming to help the impoverished – in the final analysis – only help themselves. Under the terms of what the United Nations would like to do, governments will spend trillions over the next decade to govern what has always been ungovernable – the climate. Those trillions privately spent could spur improvements in the global economy markedly, including the 3rd world. No greater example of dollars wasted, because they are not directed toward the purchase of a good or service that has value. Rather, they line the pockets of bureaucrats and further inflate the government bubble. 3rd world dictatorships are now extorting booty from the 1st world under the ruse of global warming. And when government confiscates trillions out of the private sector, it sows the seeds of societal decline for generations to come. Global warming is an imaginary problem, yet the unfair and unethical consequences of the carbon tax are quite real.

The goals they have set are unrealistic because our economy must continue to grow if our society is to thrive. With the complexity of carbon trading, carbon offsets, emissions permits, and transfers of permits, business incrementally becomes impossible to conduct. We need a free market and a clean environment. They are not mutually exclusive. It is possible to have high levels of economic activity and a cleaner environment. The other side stepped over the line when they took on carbon dioxide. In the past, government regulation was accepted as part of the cost of doing business, we’re now at the point where most businesses can’t succeed in such a toxic environment. The forces arrayed against you do not have your best interest in mind. No good will come of it. Business owners feel like the government is focused on putting them out of business. Employment is reduced because businesses large and small cannot afford to hire new workers. These consequences were entirely foreseen by those who understand economics.

My constituents struggle every day with a lack of disposable income. They must balance their own books, provide for their families, and earn enough to get by day to day and week to week. If they are very fortunate they might be able to fund their own retirement or leave a legacy for their children or grandchildren. This is becoming more and more difficult to do. The vast majority of families do a far better job at financial management than does their national government. My constituents know this to be true. And the question arises “Why?”

The government is a gangster skimming your standard of living, quality of life, and individual liberty. How much longer can you live under that thumb? The good news is problems of our own making are solved with common sense provided we muster the political will. It’s high time government does more with less. What Australia deserves is a return to free market principles. Liberals wreck the system and then say “See, the free market doesn’t work!” Well, our markets and our people are not free. A free market does not have this degree of government intervention coercing, mandating, and dictating.

If you are unsure which side to support, ask yourself the following: Who benefits from this carbon trading scheme? Why is it incumbent upon government to regulate a gas that is necessary for life to exist, for photosynthesis, and a simple byproduct of respiration? Why we should continue to leave Australia at an economic competitive disadvantage with notorious polluters like China? Why should the United Nations and the corrupt global credit markets dictate what happens in Australia? It stands to reason that smaller companies will consume less energy, why they should be given an unnatural competitive advantage relating to business costs that does not relate directly to the quality of the product they bring to market?

\We were born to be free, yet having a government as a master makes you a slave. Government does not have the ability to grow the economy, but it has the power to destroy the economy with schemes like the carbon tax, which limit your freedom since your money, or property, is a means of exercising your freedom. There is an inverse relationship between the power of government and the liberty of the individual. Politics is the art of people making decisions. The simple fact now is this – how we decide to proceed will determine whether our children and grandchildren can enjoy fulfilling and productive lives in a country that embraces freedom, peace, and prosperity.