John Howard (Bennelong, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

It is not a question of how many countries that you accompany in a position; it is whether the position is in our national interests. The Leader of the Opposition quotes China as having ratified the protocol. It is easy for a country like China to ratify the protocol because China does not assume the obligations under the protocol that a country such as Australia would. If we had ratified the protocol, we would have been assuming obligations that would have been damaging to our economy; costly to jobs, especially in the resources industry; and not in Australia’s long-term interests. The Leader of the Opposition should be reminded that decisions in relation to these matters are not determined by the number of countries that share your view but by whether you believe the position you have taken is in your country’s interests. It was plainly not in the interests of Australia to ratify the protocol and that is why the government took that decision.

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