The debacle that has occurred at the climate conference in Copenhagen justifies the voting down of the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme earlier this month.

The Nationals Senator for New South Wales John Williams said he shudders every time he thinks what might have been if the Prime Minister had got his way and taken the Emissions Trading Scheme to the conference.

"He would have run off to Copenhagen with his 114 strong entourage claiming Australia is leading the way on reducing the world's greenhouse gas emissions, but it become obvious the rest of the world were not that keen on following.

Australia would have been left out to dry, and Australians would have been saddled with another tax.

Only last week we were warned to expect an increase of 62 percent in electricity costs in New South Wales over the next three years, one third of it attributable to the Emissions Trading Scheme. Where will it end?

Mr. Rudd and his Climate Change Minister Senator Wong had demanded a position before Copenhagen, but the Australian people asked the Opposition to reject this scattergun approach, and we delivered.

The Prime Minister must now radically rethink his climate change policy", Senator Williams said.