Ms Julie Bishop (Curtin, Liberal Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

The Prime Minister reiterated, in Paris and to The Australian newspaper, that the targets of 26 per cent to 28 per cent will not be negotiated at the Paris climate change conference. I have a mandate from the Australian government that was passed by the cabinet and endorsed by the party room for 26 per cent to 28 per cent. That is our target. That is the target that the Prime Minister was speaking about. He was not changing government policy. Government policy remains the same. Our target is 26 per cent to 28 per cent.

What he was referring to—if the member had bothered to read the article—was that it is government policy to look, in 2017, at the question of the use of international units. That has always been our policy. It is also government policy to consider reviews for all countries that sign on to reducing greenhouse gas emissions reductions in five years time. In fact, I said last week, in answer to a question here, that we believe countries should review their targets every five years. If they are not meeting their target they can change their action. If they are exceeding their target they can raise it. It can be calibrated every five years. This has been government policy since August.

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