The safeguard mechanism debate is shaping up as a critical part of the climate transition, and it is shaping up very quickly. I have been involved in dozens of negotiations in the public and private sectors over the last 25 years, but three stand out and are worth reflecting on in the context of the current debate.

In 1999, I was in Treasury, advising the government on the design and implementation of the GST. Sitting in the advisers’ box of the Senate chamber, I watched Brian Harradine stand up and say he could not support the GST.