Australia’s Minister for Climate Change Greg Combet has used his speech at the National Press Club today to stress the benefits of placing a price on carbon.

The Gillard government’s Clean Energy Future package, ushered through Parliament last year, puts a price on carbon for Australia’s biggest polluters and will cut carbon pollution by at least 160 million tonnes a year in 2020, according to the government.

“The need to reduce the carbon intensity of our industries is one reason why I have long been an advocate for carbon pricing – well before I entered Parliament. It is an essential economic reform that is in the long-term interest of working people and our country,” Mr Combet said.

“It is a foundation of long-term competitiveness.”

Mr Combet said there were “significant swathes” of heavy industry laboured with old machinery.

“Pockets of our modern economy have been starved of capital investment, leaving us with ageing technologies and inefficient energy supply and consumption. The Clean Energy Future package will contribute towards modernising these parts of our industrial base.

“It will drive investment in cleaner energy, low emissions technologies and energy efficiency.”

The climate change minister also said he was confident the package would see economic growth decoupled from pollution growth.