Tuckey vents fury at Turnbull over emissions bill
The Age
Wednesday July 22, 2009
ANGER in Coalition ranks over Opposition Leader Malcolm Turnbull's stance on emissions trading has boiled over, with a vitriolic attack by fiery Liberal backbencher Wilson Tuckey.In a blistering email to his parliamentary colleagues, Mr Tuckey said Mr Turnbull's "arrogance and inexperience" on the issue had to be addressed.The attack came as Prime Minister Kevin Rudd sought to wedge the Opposition on the issue by appointing a former Liberal environment minister, Robert Hill, to a key job in the proposed emissions trading scheme. Appearing with Mr Rudd at a news conference, Mr Hill said an emissions trading scheme was the "way to go".Despite the deep Coalition divisions, shadow treasurer Joe Hockey welcomed Mr Hill's appointment and reinforced the message Mr Turnbull sent again on Monday - that he was looking for a deal on the scheme.But he said Mr Rudd should not only turn to former Liberals for advice on emissions trading. "Current Liberals are ready to give him advice about his current scheme"."We stand ready to sit down and negotiate with the Government on an emissions trading scheme that protects Australian jobs and protects the Australian economy," Mr Hockey said.Mr Hill, adjunct professor in sustainability at the University of Sydney's US Studies Centre, was environment minister under former prime minister John Howard from 1996 to 2001 and represented Australia in the Kyoto climate negotiations.In his new role, Mr Hill will chair the Australian Carbon Trust, which will promote energy efficiency measures to households and businesses.Mr Hill would not be drawn on what the Coalition should do in the coming Senate vote on emissions trading. "I'm on the side of early action - but there's got to be a parliamentary process," he said.Mr Turnbull said this week it would be best to wait until after the Copenhagen climate conference in December to vote on the legislation. But even though the Government timetable was not prudent, business wanted the Opposition to amend the scheme, he said.Some sources say Mr Turnbull wants to compromise when there is a vote in August; others claim he was talking about when there is a second vote later in the year. He went on "informal leave" at his farm on Tuesday and did not comment yesterday.Coalition policy currently is to vote down the scheme if the Government refuses to defer the legislation until next year.Mr Tuckey wrote in his email: "There are no amendments to the ETS that will make it work. By its nature, it is either a simple job destroyer or must be so generous as to fail in its purpose."I can think of no better issue upon which to fight an election be it early or on time," he wrote.Some Coalition MPs are against compromise, and the Nationals have made it clear they will not vote for a scheme.The $50 million Carbon Trust will provide grants to businesses to build sustainable buildings and will also provide an online calculator for households to measure energy use.Mr Rudd said the trust was "designed to ensure that we as a nation, government, business, households, are out there doing our bit to bring down greenhouse gas emissions".
© 2009 The Age
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