Alan Eggleston (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Senator Wong is perpetuating the old ALP line that the government has been slow to respond to climate change, but that is not the case. It is obvious to us all, I think, that climate change is around us: there has been a great decrease in the rainfall in the south-west; we have heard that there are water restrictions in countries like the UK; and there was no snow in Europe, I am told, this winter, in places like Austria and Germany. But it is quite wrong to say that the government has not been aware that climate change is an issue. In fact, far from being laggard, this government has very much led the way. For example, it was the first government in the world to establish a greenhouse office, and that happened way back in 1996. So, Senator Wong, this government has been aware of and has been taking action on climate change for a very long time.

There is a question as to whether climate change is related to some cyclical phenomenon, such as a change in the earth’s orbit in relation to the sun. We are supposedly coming out of an ice age and perhaps that is the reason climate change seems to be occurring. There is a lot of evidence that this change in the earth’s temperature is something that has gone on over many thousands of years in a cyclical manner. But there was a United Nations report at the end of last week which suggests that climate change is caused by man. That is very interesting, but it does not mean that the Howard government’s policies are out of step with that, as Senator Wong suggests.

In fact, the Australian government are leading the way, in many ways, in dealing with climate change. We signed the Kyoto protocol but we have not ratified it for the simple reason that it does very little to address climate change problems because the big emitters of the world are not signatories to that treaty. But, as an alternative, the Australian government have led the way in seeking to set up what is known as the Asia-Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate. This partnership brings together some key countries, including Australia, China, Korea, Japan and the United States, to explore ways to develop, deploy and transfer to cleaner and more efficient technologies which the world will need to make the required cuts in global greenhouse gas emissions. The importance of this partnership is clear when you consider that between them these six partners account for almost half of the world’s population, GDP, energy use and greenhouse gas emissions.

So, far from being laggard, the Australian government has been very much a leader, through setting up this Asia-Pacific partnership. Distinctive features of the partnership include the way it seeks to address climate change, air pollution, energy security and sustainable development in an integrated manner, and the way in which it fully engages business in developing and implementing solutions. Importantly, the partnership does not replace the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change or the Kyoto protocol, but will instead develop those programs by being more inclusive of some of the great greenhouse gas emitters of the world.

Senator Wong suggested that the $10 billion the Prime Minister has allocated to the water management proposal, including the Murray-Darling proposal, is a drop in the bucket, so to speak, and certainly does not represent any clear commitment on the government’s part to managing Australia’s water problems. I think that is a nonsensical comment for Senator Wong to have made. When you think about it, Australia is the driest continent on earth, and it is about time we had a national water management policy. The ALP, while it was in government for 13 years, did not establish such a national policy, and now we have the Howard government giving strong leadership to this country in establishing a national water management policy. The commitment of $10 billion, I think, is proof positive of the government’s absolute belief in that policy. (Time expired)