John Watson (Tasmania, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

The scientific jury is still out on whether the warming of our oceans and the higher land temperatures that have been a feature of recent years are really a long-term problem as part of planetary evolution or due to man-made factors. I am not one who sits at either extreme of the debate because I believe that, certainly at the margin, we could all do more individually and collectively to reduce levels of CO emissions. I remind the Senate that the level of CO entering the atmosphere increased substantially because of industrialisation—the Industrial Revolution that started in England. In recent times, because of the growth of industrialisation in China and in newly developing countries, levels of COhave increased at quite a substantial rate.

The point is that there is no single solution to the global climatic change challenge. We have to examine this from a number of perspectives. I think Australian farmers in particular have adapted remarkably well to climate variability and water shortage, sometimes under intense difficulties, by improving the efficiency of water use, holding more water in reserve, having fodder conservation practices and developing new strains of drought-resistant plants. I think of the developments in the rice industry and the progress there in using less water to produce more rice. Australia has a lot to be proud of, including the farmers for the way they have adapted and managed the variability of our climate—because it is the variability that is the day-to-day problem.

I would draw your attention to a press release by Prime Minister Howard today, launching the Australian government’s Global Initiative on Forests and Climate. The release says:

This represents a material advance in the global effort to tackle climate change and protect the world’s forests.

Some of the biggest problems in terms of forest clearing occur in countries around the equator, in places like Brazil, Indonesia and, to some extent, Malaysia and Thailand. The release continues:

The Australian Government has committed $200 million to kickstart this world leading initiative that will reduce significantly global greenhouse gas emissions.

It is interesting to note that the press release says:

Almost 20 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions come from clearing the world’s forests—second only to emissions from burning fossil fuels to produce electricity …

The opposition constantly say that the Australian government has not done enough in this area. Let me give you some examples of the initiatives of the Australian government, particularly those under Minister Ian Macfarlane. The government has made six grants worth $410 million, supporting nearly $2.5 billion in private investment in low-emission technologies, including renewable energy. We are leading the world in terms of technologies to lessen CO emissions from coal. The LETDF is a competitive program focused on supporting the best possible flow of emissions technology for Australia’s sustainable energy supplies. We have also funded one of the world’s largest solar power systems, in Northern Australia. The story goes on.

At the extreme we have Senator Bob Brown calling for a shutdown of our coal industry. We have others calling for a shutdown of our aluminium industry but, because aluminium is a world metal, what was not produced by Australia would very quickly be taken up by other countries.

I have taken a lot of interest over the years in the level of rainfall in my state. For example, last year, Burnie had its lowest rainfall on record. The Bureau of Meteorology told me that their studies of over 100 years in Tasmania show that, just south of Oatlands, rainfall has been reducing slowly. (Time expired)