After three and a half days of intensive hearings, the overwhelming weight of evidence to the Joint Select Committee on Australia's Clean Energy Future has been supportive of the package, the Australian Greens said today.
The business and investment community, as well as experienced economists, have given evidence that putting a price on pollution is the cheapest and most efficient way of cutting emissions, and that Tony Abbott's threat to repeal the package, if it continues, will drag the economy down.
"With overwhelming support for the Clean Energy Future package in evidence to the Joint Inquiry, it's time for Tony Abbott to formally ditch his great big new lie that he will repeal the bills," Australian Greens Deputy Leader, Senator Christine Milne, said.
"With the exception of a handful of Coalition-aligned groups like the IPA, the Minerals Council and ACCI, whose arguments against the package have been thoroughly debunked by Treasury and others, essentially all evidence the Committee has heard has been supportive of the package.
"We have heard more clear evidence that Tony Abbott's fig-leaf of a climate plan would lead to far higher costs for all Australians and for the economy as a whole than the Clean Energy Future package delivered by the government, the Greens and the Independents.
"Big businesses from Westpac to AGL to the institutional investors who make up the Investor Group on Climate Change all want to minimise costs to themselves and their customers, which is why they back the policy and investment certainty delivered by the Clean Energy Future package.
"What is more, the Committee heard evidence today that the market uncertainty caused by Tony Abbott's continued threat to repeal the bills will increase the costs of finance and be a billion dollar deadweight on the entire economy.
"Tony Abbott, your great big new lie that you will repeal these bills will drag down the whole economy.
"It's time to embrace the inevitable and start looking to the opportunities for the community, for jobs and for the environment from taking action on climate change."
