Manufacturing workers will be supported through the transition to a low carbon economy, Assistant Treasurer Bill Shorten said today after touring Rio Tinto Alcan Bell Bay with Minister for Small Business, Senator Nick Sherry and Member for Bass Geoff Lyons.
Mr Shorten and Senator Sherry outlined a range of measures, announced by the Gillard Government on Sunday, to support jobs in manufacturing industries as they make the transition to a clean energy future.
"Rio Tinto Alcan employs more than 500 people at Tasmania's Bell Bay operations and the Gillard Government will ensure that jobs in industries like this will be supported," Mr Shorten said.
"The Opposition is busy running around with their scare campaign, trying to convince Australians to stay stuck in the past. Well, I'm not going to stay stuck in the past. Australia can't afford to stay stuck in the past, which is why the Gillard Government is acting on climate change."
"All the Opposition is doing is telling Tasmanians they can't adapt, that they can't move with the times, that they should be scared of the future. Tony Abbott and the Liberal Party can stay timid and fearful all they like, but I think Tasmanian businesses can see through the fear campaign."
The $9.2 billion Jobs and Competitiveness Program announced as part of the Government's Clean Energy Future package will assist the most emissions-intensive activities in the economy that are exposed to international competition.
Senator Sherry said "The Government has designed the Jobs and Competitiveness Program to keep our emissions-intensive industry onshore as we price carbon pollution."
"But it will maintain a strong price signal for industries to reduce the pollution intensity of their products. Making products like aluminium, steel, glass, clinker and chemicals in cleaner and more efficient ways is good for the environment, supports Australian jobs and will ensure our industry remains competitive," Senator Sherry said.
The Jobs and Competitiveness Program will also provide significant support for jobs and protect the competitiveness of these industries from risks of carbon leakage.
Member for Bass, Geoff Lyons, said "While the assistance will shield emissions-intensive and trade-exposed industries from the full impact of the carbon price on profitability, it has been designed to reward businesses if they reduce pollution."
"It does this by allocating free permits on the basis of historic emissions intensity, so that any investments that reduce pollution will save money for the business, increasing the cost-effectiveness of such investments," Mr Lyons said.
Importantly, the Jobs and Competitiveness Program has also been designed to support future investment and growth in these industries.
"The assistance arrangements will enable businesses to make investment decisions with a clear understanding of the assistance they will receive into the future," Mr Shorten said.
"The Clean Energy Future package will help Australia meet the environmental and economic challenges of competing in a low-pollution world."
"Individuals have been paying for one form of pollution - garbage - for decades. If we have to pay for our pollution, I think it's about time the biggest polluters in this country did the same-especially given that their pollution risks causing dangerous climate change effects."
"Carbon pricing is a reform we need to make to keep our economy competitive, to protect our environment and to do the right thing for our children and future generations," Mr Shorten said.
Further information about the Government's clean energy future and carbon price announcement is available at www.cleanenergyfuture.gov.au