Bob Brown (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

I am grateful to Senator Boswell for getting the information about the disallowable instrument but, as I see it, it is not going to have the full information required to assure us that these forests are going to indeed be a carbon sink. There will be environmental guidelines for planting the trees, but there are not going to be, on the face of it, time demands for growing those trees—as there are in Senator Milne’s amendment, which says they have to aim to be there at least 100 years. I want to foreshadow to the Minister for Climate Change and Water and the Treasurer that, if those matters are not dealt with, we will move to disallow this instrument. As Senator Boswell said, that is a serious matter. Be warned, anybody who wants to take this particular scheme up before this Senate has had its inquiry, dealt with it and seen the instrument that the minister is bringing forward. Might I also put a request through you, Minister, here and now, if there is an inquiry established in a moment, that the government furnish the details of the proposed disallowable instrument so that the inquiry can take that into account in its deliberations?