Joe Ludwig (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Manager of Government Business in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

I do not want to disagree with you, but I do. That is why it is important to do surveys if you say it is common practice to reduce fertiliser use within the industry; tell me that and they can develop offset methodologies. One way would be to do industry surveys of a particular product, a type of produce, and what fertiliser is being used—what type, what amount is being put on per hectare or per square metre—and demonstrate that, in addition to other time series data, there has been a net reduction for different reasons; so we have developed an offset methodology. So none of what you have said rules out the opportunity for reduction in fertiliser to be used, but you do have to demonstrate that it is not business as usual, even if business as usual means improved practices, but that it is part of an offset methodology that leads to a project that reduces the use and therefore you can demonstrate that you have reduced carbon pollution.