Dick Adams (Lyons, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry. Will the minister update the House on recent climate change research into adaptation and mitigation measures for agriculture and of any threats to action on climate change?

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

I thank the member for Lyons for his question. I also acknowledge the member for Lyons’s strong engagement with the forestry sector in his electorate and the work that he has been doing there for some time, advocating that stored carbon in forest products forms part of Australia’s negotiating strategy as we move towards Copenhagen. At Old Parliament House this morning we held the Agriculture Roundtable where I, and officials from my department and the Department of Climate Change, met with the leadership of the farmers’ organisations, state-by-state, nationally and commodity-by-commodity. We worked through issues relating to the work program for the decisions that need to be made in 2013 as to whether or not agriculture would be included in the scheme in 2015.

We also had a briefing from ABARE. Members will remember that I referred to some figures in passing last Thursday as to the costs on farmers of the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme. That information has now been released and was provided to the people this morning. I am happy to provide the full information to the parliament by tabling that ABARE report now.

The question also asks me about what different threats and opportunities there are for action through the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme, given that there are many people within this House and within the Senate who do not have the same constructive relationship that the farm organisations had this morning. I referred before to there being a claim of a constructive role from the Leader of the Nationals, where he had said, ‘We have always said we are prepared to play a constructive role’—while the Leader of the Nationals in the other place paraphrases that by saying, ‘No, no, no, no, no.’ Yesterday, the Leader of the Opposition made the comment that was referred to earlier by the Prime Minister:

So yes, I’ve got no doubt we will have an emissions trading scheme in Australia. That’s my view.

A journalist then—I think this morning—put that quote back to the Leader of the Nationals. I think the journalist was pretty faithful to the quote from the Leader of the Opposition: ‘On climate change, Malcolm Turnbull, the Leader of the Opposition, says, “There will be an ETS.” Will the Nats ever support that?’ And the Leader of the Nationals said, ‘Well, he didn’t quite say that.’

I am not sure how the claim from the Leader of the Opposition of, ‘I’ve got no doubt that we will have an emissions trading scheme,’ is not quite saying, ‘There will be an ETS.’ But apparently when the Nationals have a look at it, that is what that means. It is more confusion from the same group, as I have said before, that has provided a shadow minister who puts himself forward as a climate change sceptic. He then goes on to be the only climate change sceptic in a media release to claim that climate change is a massive threat. He is a climate change sceptic who describes climate change as a massive threat! They are special people in the National Party!

We as the government have gone forward. As the Prime Minister mentioned earlier, the CPRS is not the only part of our response to climate change. There is significant research work going on both in the areas of adaptation announced recently and in the recent announcement with respect to biochar. On the adaptation work extreme temperatures have become an important part of dealing with climate change. That is why under the Climate Change Research Program we have extreme temperature research into livestock industries involving the CSIRO and the University of Melbourne. Changes in CO2 levels have an impact on cropping—possibly there will be some advantages to some cropping sectors with respect to CO2 concentration—and that work is being done under Australia’s farming future with partnerships for the University of Melbourne, the Victorian Department of Primary Industries and the Grains Research and Development Corporation. There are industry opportunities as well in Northern Australia in being part of Australia’s farming future. As well as that we have launched, at $1.4 million, the largest biochar research project in Australia’s history.

Malcolm Turnbull (Wentworth, Liberal Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Took you a while.

Mr Tony Burke (Watson, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Link to 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.

Malcolm Turnbull (Wentworth, Liberal Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Turnbull interjecting

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

Because it was a boringly bad speech. That was the reason.

Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! The minister will ignore the interjection. The Leader of the Opposition will cease interjecting.

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

At least when you were on Insiders I was in Braidwood on a farm and I did not have to watch it live. In February the CSIRO concluded its review of gaps in biochar research and then in May of this year, being able to assess the applications that had come in, we were able to then have $1.4 million through the CSIRO project announced. We were actually working through each stage and making sure of the government’s interest in being part of the solution. At the same time on the other side we get three opposing views, two opposing parties, a confused person who composes himself and no policy.

Kevin Rudd (Griffith, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, I ask that further questions be placed on the Notice Paper.