ALBANESE: Modelling out today from the Climate Institute once again reinforces the overwhelming view that early action on climate change makes economic sense. The Howard Government has delayed for 11 years. For 11 years we’ve seen a Government that’s been in denial about climate change, now we have a Government that’s in denial about its climate change advertising campaign.

The Prime Minister misled the Parliament last week when he said that neither his Government his department or his office knew or had approved a climate change advertising campaign. We know that not only has that occurred but that market research has been done on the Prime Minister’s letter and on the information to be mailed to each and every Australian.

What Australia needs on climate change is a Government that will lead, not one that will mislead. On climate change the Government has been in denial for 11 years, it needs to stop it’s denial about the climate change advertising campaign. What we actually need on climate change is more policy makers not more jingle writers. This is a Government that’s determined to spin its way out of 11 years of denial on climate change. I think the Australian people will regard this for the cynical action that it is.

REPORTER: Has Therese Rein paid to high a price for….

ALBANESE: Julia Gillard will be answering questions on Industrial Relations in just a minute.

REPORTER: It’s more a matter of the Labor Party isn’t it than Industrial Relations?

ALBANESE: Therese Rein and Kevin Rudd have made a statement yesterday, I respect that decision.

REPORTER: Do you have any analysis of the AC Neilson poll showing the Coalition would lose 41 seats?

ALBANESE: I think that’s over exaggerated. The fact is that the election will be later this year. We expect the election to be extremely close. We expect a very tight result along the lines of 51-49. We’re not getting carried away with polls at this stage in the cycle-there’s a long way to go.

What we do know is that this Government more and more is being exposed as not having a plan for the future. It has a plan on climate change which consists of having climate change advertising. That’s its plan on climate change. You can’t have a situation whereby a Government says our plan on climate change is to have an advertising campaign and the advertising campaign says we have a plan on climate change.

This is becoming quite absurd and it’s an abuse of taxpayer’s funds. The Prime Minister needs to respond in Parliament today about his mislead, serial mislead in the Parliament to question after question regarding this campaign last week.

ENDS