The leader of the minority Palmer United Party, Clive Palmer, has claimed “a meeting of the minds” with conservative Liberal-National Prime Minister Tony Abbott over his proposed conditions to eliminate Australia’s carbon price laws.
Mr Palmer gave the assessment when he emerged from an early morning meeting, the first such face-to-face meeting in more than two years.
Mr Palmer, who met the Prime Minister to discuss his PUP’s conditional support for scrapping the carbon price that was introduced by the then Labor government two years ago.
After this morning’s meeting Mr Palmer affirmed the carbon price laws could be repealed regardless of the government’s position on his proposed “zero-rated” Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS).
AAP Newsagency reports the PUP leader, asked about his proposed ETS, said it would only activate once the governments of the United States, China, Europe, Japan and Korea agreed a “common solution” to the climate change threat.
Mr Palmer said his senators would repeal the carbon price if the law was amended to make it “mandatory” for the market regulator, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, to police electricity prices.
“I pointed out in the proposed repeal Act it wasn’t mandatory; it was something the ACCC could do but it wasn’t mandatory, but it should be,” Mr Palmer said after meeting Mr Abbott in the national capital, Canberra.
“I think he was positively encouraged by what we were trying to achieve, especially there was a meeting of the minds of the importance to make sure Australians get back their fair share from the removal of the carbon tax.”
Asked if the ETS was a condition of supporting the carbon tax repeal, Mr Palmer said: “No it’s not.”
Mr Palmer, whose Senate voting bloc will be crucial to passing any carbon tax repeal, said an international “common solution” was needed to address climate change.
“It’s very important that Australia gives an indication it’s prepared to do its fair share, but it’s more important to realise we won’t have a solution to this global problem unless we have China, the United States, Europe, Japan, Korea and other people working together,” he said.
As Mr Palmer announced in a surprise news conference last night the PUP, while prepared to scrap the carbon price, will oppose the abolition of the Clean Energy Finance Corporation and the Climate Change Authority, and not accept any change to the Renewable Energy Target (RET).
Meanwhile, the Australia Greens Party leader Senator Christine Milne has said she will try to convince Mr Palmer not to back the carbon price repeal bills, which is already legislated to transition to a market based ETS in 2015.
The mining magnate abstained on the carbon tax vote in the lower house because of his mining interests, and Senator Milne said PUP senators should do the same.
Asked on ABC News what chance she had of changing Mr Palmer’s mind, Senator Milne said: “Last week, he wasn’t very sure that climate change was real.
“This week he’s saving the Renewable Energy Target, the Clean Energy Finance Corporation, I couldn’t have predicted that last week,’’ she told ABC News.
“I think it would be foolhardy to predict what might happen next week, and that’s why I will continue to argue that we keep the scheme we have got because it is working.’’
The opposition Labor Party’s finance spokesman Tony Burke has raised concerns about introducing an ETS with a zero-dollar price.
“How do you actually have a limit and trading system with a zero value?’’ he asked on Sky News.
“I don’t think anyone quite understands what that in fact means.’’
Australian Industry Group chief Innes Willox questioned Mr Palmer’s demand that all electricity savings from the carbon repeal be passed onto consumers.
“Consumers have already been compensated and businesses have already absorbed most of the cost of the carbon tax, so to ask business to do more would be very difficult,’’ Mr Willox told ABC News.
