Adam Bandt (Melbourne, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Resources. A few months after being appointed resources minister, the minister said on ABC Perth radio that carbon dioxide was not noxious:

It's the bubbles in your soda water or out of your SodaStream. So, we've got to keep it in balance, how we think about carbon dioxide …

Is this reckless, dangerous view the reason the minister is so intent on opening up massive new climate-destroying gas projects, even if it derails the rest of the government's legislative agenda?

Hon. Members:

Honourable members interjecting—

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! Members on my right and members on my left will cease interjecting.

Madeleine King (Brand, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Northern Australia) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

No, it's science.

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Paterson is warned.

Madeleine King (Brand, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Northern Australia) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Carbon dioxide in low amounts, which is what's in SodaStream and in soft drinks—

Ms Catherine King (Ballarat, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It's a very popular product.

Madeleine King (Brand, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Northern Australia) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

it's very popular—isn't noxious. It absolutely is not. Of course, dangerous amounts of carbon dioxide through our climate is dangerous. I'm not a climate denier. There are people in this building that might be, and I think there are fewer and fewer every year. It is not noxious in the small amounts to which I referred to in that interview. Dangerous amounts of carbon dioxide cause global warming, and that is why this government has taken steps immediately upon becoming elected to introduce measures. We've passed many bits of legislation—the safeguards mechanism, the climate targets, the vehicles emission standards scheme which is going through the parliament right now.

I would remind the leader of the Greens political party exactly what his party has done in the past. It was the Greens political party that came into this parliament and voted against the CPRS many years ago.

Adam Bandt (Melbourne, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

You're opening gas projects!

Madeleine King (Brand, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Northern Australia) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

You might laugh, the member for Melbourne. He should go right ahead, through you, Mr Speaker. The record is here, in Hansard. History has been set, and you helped set it. You put back this country's battle to fight climate change by decades. So, I say to the leader of the Greens political party, you get exactly what you deserve. Your party has made this happen all on your very own for your very own political purposes.

I must object to the member for Melbourne continuing to laugh at what is a very serious topic. This government is taking action. From the moment we got elected as the party of government—not a party of protest, like the Greens political party—to take action to address dangerous climate change. The leader of the Greens political party comes in here—

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Melbourne is warned.

Madeleine King (Brand, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Northern Australia) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

and has a little chitchat about soda streams and bubbles that might be in Coca-Cola and other soft drinks as if those are the same thing has dangerous climate change caused by carbon dioxide. Through you, Mr Speaker, the Greens political party and its leader have gone too far. You're ridiculous, and you should just stop it.

Honourable members interjecting—

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! Members on my right will cease interjecting.

Honourable members interjecting—

Order! The House is going to come to order so I can hear the next question. That sort of behaviour is completely unacceptable.

Honourable members interjecting—

Order! Every member is entitled to ask a question of their choice, and they should be respected it in their right to do so.