Christine Milne (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister representing the Prime Minister, Senator Minchin. I refer to the Prime Minister’s announcement today regarding the spending of $200 million over five years to reduce CO emissions from deforestation in developing countries, and particularly to his claim that Australia is leading the world and kick-starting a global effort in relation to forests and climate change. Isn’t it true that in 2005 at the United Nations framework convention meeting in Montreal a global process was launched to design an effective solution to deforestation, that a series of meetings has been held since, including a subsequent workshop hosted in Australia, in Cairns, a few weeks ago with a view to developing market based mechanisms and non-market based mechanisms like funds of this kind for any post-2012 treaty? Rather than claiming to be kick-starting a global effort, why doesn’t the Prime Minister admit that Australia is part of an existing ongoing process, which will have its culmination at the next meeting of the parties in December in Bali? Will the minister explain why— (Time expired)