Penny Wong says the Coalition's climate plans risk higher Australian energy bills and will be seen as walking away from the Pacific.After a visit from China's Premier Li Qiang, Senator Wong will head to the Pacific with six ministers.
"It is mind-bogglingly absurd for him to suggest that more uncertainty will do anything other than increase costs," she said on Sunday morning.Mr Dutton this week ruled out setting an emissions target ahead of the next election, insisting Australians were more concerned about their living costs than climate policies.
Business groups have urged the Coalition to stick to Labor's 2030 target if it wins the next election.She said the Coalition's policy would risk investment in new energy production as old technologies left the market. "The reality is Mr Dutton and his colleagues did not do that over 10 years so we are where we are, which is a permanent contest."