Mr Tony Burke (Watson, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Hansard source

We have from the Leader of the Opposition the claim that it took us a while. In 12 years in government with that man as the minister for environment it never occurred to them to do anything on biochar. Look at the chronology of when he made his speech because he made his speech calling for action on biochar in January this year. Yet on 12 July last year this government initiated two biochar research projects announced through Caring for our Country. Then in September last year we called for expressions of interest for a CSIRO project submitted under the first round of the Climate Change Research Program. The Climate Change Expert Panel in September last year recommended we wait until the CSIRO review was complete. Then in January the Leader of the Opposition called for the government to start to do what it is already doing.

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