Abbott accused of second costing blunder

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott remains on the back foot after being accused of making
a second gaffe in as many days over costings related to a Carbon Pollution Reduction
Scheme (CPRS).

As the new Liberal leader hit the ground in the prime minister's home state of
Queensland in a campaign to recruit troops to "Abbott's army", the government
maintained its attack over his costings claims.
Mr Abbott has also ratcheted up his costing claims, saying the scheme could cost
Australian taxpayers as much as $600 billion.
"If a five per cent reduction in emissions costs $120 billion, I think it's
reasonable to assume, in the absence of other plausible evidence, that five times
that reduction, a 25 per cent reduction in emissions, might cost five times the
price."
On Wednesday, Mr Abbott said Australians could be slugged $400 billion under a plan
leaked at UN climate talks in Copenhagen, prompting the government to accuse him of
making a $250 billion costings blunder.
The draft plan calls for Australia to lower its emissions by 25 per cent within a
decade.
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has committed Australia to lowering emissions by between
five and 25 per cent by 2020.
Assistant Climate Change Minister Greg Combet on Thursday branded Mr Abbott as
irresponsible over his claims.
"Yesterday, Mr Abbott suggested that the higher target of a 15 per cent cut in
emissions by the year 2020 would cost around $400 billion and on that score, he was
$250 billion wrong," Mr Combet said.
"Today, he is speculating that it might be as much as $600 billion to go for a
higher target and again he is hundreds of billions of dollars out."
Treasury modelling suggested the total cost of permits to achieve a 15 per cent
target by 2020 would be around $150 billion, he said.
Mr Abbott said that if there was modelling that shows the costs of a 15 per cent and
a 25 per cent emissions reduction, the figures should be released.
But Mr Combet said the modelling was released last year.
"The fact of the matter is that over a year ago, the government released the
Treasury model containing the cost estimations of various scenarios including cost
estimations of the CPRS under different levels of targeted reductions in emissions,"
he said.
"Mr Abbott, what he is doing each day is demonstrating that he doesn't do any
homework. He doesn't know the facts, he shoots from the hip, he is not a reliable
commentator even on these issues, let alone a responsible political leader."
Federal Treasurer Wayne Swan described Mr Abbott as erratic, adding that the country
deserved more considered statements from the leader of the opposition.
"It's another example of Mr Abbott being erratic and making inaccurate claims," he
told reporters in Brisbane.
Australian Greens deputy leader Christine Milne, speaking from Copenhagen, said Mr
Abbott's misunderstanding of basic climate policy was astonishing.
But Senator Milne also attacked the government's stance saying the economic
difference as calculated by Treasury between a five per cent and a 15 per cent
target was smaller than expected.
The attacks on Mr Abbott came as he campaigned in Cairns, raising the issue of jobs
in an effort to woo voters.
"We are not going to get unemployment down in Cairns by re-regulating the labour
market and by giving unions more power. So, I think that if you want a stronger
economy in Cairns the best thing to have would be a change of government."