Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Climate Change and Water) Share this | Hansard source

I apologise to Senator Macdonald for the fact that I am referring to savings, which he actually talks about in his question, as something I should not be responding to, but I propose to respond to that because these are important issues. Clearly he wants me to deal with the savings measures to which he has referred.

In relation to the FutureGen Alliance, which is another measure which was the subject of this savings decision, I should advise the chamber that that will now be funded from the government’s $500 million clean coal fund. In relation to the Asia-Pacific Forestry Skills and Capacity Building program, which is in Minister Burke’s portfolio, we will now fund that from $200 million in relation to the international forest carbon initiative.

So there are ways in which we are seeking to ensure that the government continue to deliver important climate change programs, but they do occur in the context of a government that is determined to exercise responsible economic management and appropriate fiscal constraint, particularly given the legacy which we and the Australian people were bequeathed by those opposite.