Eric Abetz (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Minister for Fisheries, Forestry and Conservation) Share this | Hansard source

The brief answer to the honourable senator’s question is no, but allow me to expand on it. Comprehensive strategies are in place, underpinned by almost $3.5 billion worth of investment, contributing to an 87 million tonne a year cut in emissions by 2010. Recently announced initiatives by the Howard government have included $336 million for green vouchers for schools and $252 million for solar hot water rebates et cetera. We also have invested $15 million in the FutureGen International Partnership. We have invested $70.7 million as follows: $5 million for the Asia-Pacific Network for Energy Technology, $50 million to support further action through the APP and $15.7 million for increased regional expertise in forest management. The list goes on.

The Australian Labor Party can try and make the claim, as it does all the time, that somehow it has been the champion of climate change. The simple facts are these: we were the ones who introduced the Australian Greenhouse Office in 1998. Thereafter, there were literally years when a full 12 months would go by without the Labor Party asking a single question about climate change or global warming. Indeed, if you do a search of Hansard from 1998 up until May 2007, you will find that the vast majority of questions in this area have in fact been asked by coalition senators. The only time that the Labor Party have asked more questions on this issue than the coalition has in fact been in the last 12 months.

That is why I coined the phrase ‘Kevin’s come lately to this issue’. It was only with Mr Rudd that they finally decided that this might be an issue. Before that, we as a government had been developing policies and investing Australian taxpayers’ dollars to ensure that we were well positioned around the world in relation to these issues. We have done that, and we have a very good record. All I would suggest to Senator Carr is that, rather than accepting questions from the question time committee—