Ian Macdonald (Queensland, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

The focus groups have sure been working hard for the Labor Party in the last six months, and they eventually alerted Mr Rudd to the fact that climate change is an issue. The Labor Party did not seem to realise that fact for the 13 years that they were in government. We came to government in 1996, and the first thing we did—a world first, certainly a first for any Australian government—was to establish the Australian Greenhouse Office within the department of the environment. Nothing had been done by the Labor Party. Now they are putting this holier-than-thou view on climate change because their focus groups have been working for Mr Rudd since he has become the leader. They told Mr Rudd that he should say something about climate change. So now the Labor Party are on board, trying to play catch-up politics on what the Howard government have been doing for the 10 years of their government. The Greenhouse Office was a world first, and it demonstrated that, not 10 months ago when Mr Rudd was elected leader of the Labor Party but 10 years ago when this government was elected, we had a serious view on climate change and actually did something about it then. Since that time, the government has committed over $3½ billion to initiatives that directly address climate change and more than over one-quarter of a billion dollars on indirect matters.

I would ask the Labor Party what they spent on this in their 13 years of office. It would not be anywhere near the $3.4 billion that the Howard government has spent. What is the Labor Party’s solution to climate change? They think we should sign a bit of paper—the Kyoto protocol—and then everything will be okay. Sorry; that is not the real world. What you need to do is to look after the gas emissions in your own country, which we are doing with over $3½ billion of initiatives, and you have to try to get the big emitters of the world to do something about their emissions as well. I would again point out that Australia is very concerned about this and has been for 10 years. But Australia exudes less than 1½ per cent of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions. So even if we were to turn off every electric light and shut down every factory and power station in Australia tomorrow it would not make one iota of difference to greenhouse gas emissions in the world. That is why it is so essential that we do as the Howard government has been doing; that is, to try to get the big emitters—China, India and the United States—to the table to get a worldwide, global, approach to greenhouse gas emissions that will really make a difference.

Whilst the Labor Party keep talking about the Kyoto protocol, which was signed by, I think, 150-odd countries, only a little over 30 of those countries have ever actually done anything about greenhouse gas emissions and very few of them have reached their targets. Senator Abetz today, in what I must say was one of the best answers at question time I have heard for a very long time, pointed out that places like New Zealand are not meeting their targets whereas Australia is. There are many reasons for that, but certainly the answer that Senator Abetz gave on forestry was one which has highlighted a very real benefit that forests have on Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions and therefore the world.

It always amazes me that the Greens, who continue to rail about government action in the forests, are supporting forest industries in Indonesia, the Solomons and other places around the world which are nowhere near as sustainable as Australia’s very finely managed, very productive but very environmentally friendly forests. The government has looked seriously at greenhouse and climate change issues, as can be seen with its Low Emissions Technology Demonstration Fund of over $100 million, its Renewable Energy Development Initiative and its Solar Cities initiative of $75 million. All these are Australian government—Howard government—initiatives that the Labor Party has never thought of. (Time expired)