Nick Minchin (SA, Liberal Party, Minister for Finance and Administration) Share this | Hansard source

I think, with respect, Senator Milne has completely represented the government’s position on this. She asked me a question about the assertions of a link between this drought and global climate change, which, it is asserted, is anthropogenic. I was answering that question. The question was not about the issue of climate change per se. I have detailed to her the extent to which we are taking seriously our responsibilities as members of the international community to address the reality of climate change. Of course the climate is changing and of course this country has the least reliable climate in the world. We have known from the outset of European settlement that this is the driest inhabited continent on the planet—and I live in the driest state on this continent—and it has the least reliable climate. It is right to say that we must all in our farming practices ensure that we continue to live with that reality.