ENVIRONMENT minister Peter Garrett has admitted he was not consulted about the government's decision to ditch its proposed emissions trading scheme and that he knew nothing about it until he read it in the newspapers.
Mr Garrett said the decision was taken by Kevin Rudd's inner Cabinet as part of the budget process and he had taken no part in the discussions. He said it was disappointing that the decision had been leaked and revealed that the first he knew about it was when he read a story in a newspaper report on April 27.
"That was an announcement and a decision that was leaked and I found out about it when it was leaked," Mr Garrett told Sky News' Saturday Agenda.
Mr Garrett's admission is confirmation that the ETS decision was not discussed by the full cabinet and that the discussion was restricted to the so-called gang of four: Prime Minster Mr Rudd, his deputy Julia Gillard, Treasurer Wayne Swan and Finance Minister Lindsay Tanner.
Reports today have suggested Mr Tanner was a voice of dissent when discussing the idea, but the other three senior figures carried the day.
When questioned about his exclusion from the decision making process, Mr Garrett said it was disappointing that the decision had been leaked before the government had completed its internal discussions.
"It's always disappointing when you get information that makes its way through into a newspaper and that the processes of discussion that otherwise would happen aren't able to happen, but it's a decision that was taken."
This report from The Australian:
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/garrett-left-out-of-rudds-gang-on-ets-backflip/story-e6frg6xf-1225875832909
No comments:
Post a Comment