Mark Butler (Port Adelaide, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Environment, Climate Change and Water) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

When it rains, it pours. My question is to the Minister for the Environment. I refer the minister to his recent comments about the importance of funding for Antarctica's walrus populations. Given walruses are confined to the northern hemisphere and are not found in the Antarctic, can the minister confirm whether his information on walruses came from the same source he used when calling for the protection of Tasmanian tigers?

Greg Hunt (Flinders, Liberal Party, Minister for the Environment) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Lucky day! I can see you must have something on Bill to be up twice, member for Port Adelaide. Twice in a year—what a triumph! Let me make this point to my amiable friend. I just happened to be reading a very interesting source of information—the member for Port Adelaide's Facebook site. There on that site on 15 October, just a couple of days ago—

Mr Tony Burke (Watson, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Finance) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Madam Speaker, I rise on a point of order of direct relevance. While it might be content the minister is reluctant to refer to again, he should be directly relevant to it.

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

There is no point of order. The minister is being entirely relevant. 'The time has come, the walrus said, to speak of many things,' and he is speaking of many things.

Greg Hunt (Flinders, Liberal Party, Minister for the Environment) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I appreciate the literary references, Madam Speaker, and it is clear why you occupy the current role. I would say this—that I just noticed in this interesting Facebook post—

Mr Husic interjecting—

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Chifley had better watch it.

Greg Hunt (Flinders, Liberal Party, Minister for the Environment) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

from the shadow minister for environment of Australia—a great critic, sometimes, of the government's policies. What does he say? 'Applications for grants for the 20 Million Trees Programme are now open for any interested group in the Port Adelaide electorate.' I am expecting him to be endorsing the Green Army, the coastal rivers programs, the dugongs and turtles program and our Antarctic program because, interestingly, he raises the question of the Antarctic. When we opened the bottom drawer it was very interesting, because they had talked about an ice breaker—a half a million-dollar program. And do you know what? There was nothing there. There was no money in the Antarctic program.

We have put not just the best part of half a billion dollars in for an ice breaker, we put $25 million in for the Antarctic CRC, we put $24 million in for the Antarctic Gateway Partnership and we put $38 million in for the extension of the Hobart runway, which will help not just the Antarctic program but will also help with the Tasmanian economy.

What you see is people who talk big but leave blank cheques that other people have to pick up. When you look at the reality of it, they put in place pink batts, green loans, cash for clunkers, the citizens assembly, the carbon tax and a phantom credit scheme. They axed the solar rebate, the solar hot water rebate, but they could not fund the ice breaker. They did not fund the gateway partnership, they did not fund the Hobart runway program—we did. At the end of the day, when it comes to the environment, we actually do the hard work. They are the frauds.