Media - Nick Xenophon - Independent Senator for South Australia

Independent Senator for South Australia Nick Xenophon says the Federal Government’s decision to delay the introduction of its Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme and to provide further support for major polluters will not receive his support in the Senate.

“The Government’s CPRS is fundamentally flawed,” Nick said. “Their model is unfixable and the changes announced today are simply window dressing.”

“If you give a lame duck a hair-cut, it is still a lame duck,” Nick said.

Senator Xenophon has previously described the government’s proposed scheme as ‘all stick and no carrot’, and is concerned the scheme will see tens of billions of dollars churned through government coffers.

Senator Xenophon has also expressed concern that the emission reduction targets proposed by the government are far too low.

“Climate change is real and we need a scheme that will effectively tackle this global crisis. Te government’s CPRS doesn’t do that,” Nick said. “The flawed design will tank the economy and not fix the problem of global warming.”

Senator Xenophon is also calling on the government to provide greater incentives for industry, the farming sector and households to find additional ways to reduce carbon emissions.

“There are things we can do right now independent of the CPRS,” Nick said. “The government must not put all its eggs in the CPRS basket.”

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