Christine Milne (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister representing the Prime Minister, Senator Minchin. I refer to the Prime Minister’s announcement today regarding the spending of $200 million over five years to reduce CO emissions from deforestation in developing countries, and particularly to his claim that Australia is leading the world and kick-starting a global effort in relation to forests and climate change. Isn’t it true that in 2005 at the United Nations framework convention meeting in Montreal a global process was launched to design an effective solution to deforestation, that a series of meetings has been held since, including a subsequent workshop hosted in Australia, in Cairns, a few weeks ago with a view to developing market based mechanisms and non-market based mechanisms like funds of this kind for any post-2012 treaty? Rather than claiming to be kick-starting a global effort, why doesn’t the Prime Minister admit that Australia is part of an existing ongoing process, which will have its culmination at the next meeting of the parties in December in Bali? Will the minister explain why— (Time expired)

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

All I can say is that it must be a miserable existence to be a Green because you can never make them happy. Here we are today, the government has announced a $200 million scheme to ensure that we do something to preserve tropical forests in this region, in the Asia-Pacific, to ensure that we minimise the deforestation and that we make our contribution to sustainable and manageable forestry to do our bit to end illegal logging, and all the Greens can do is get up and complain. I feel sorry for the Greens that their lives are so miserable that they are never able to see any good in anything that anybody else does.

I think the Greens should have stood up today and applauded the government for making an investment of $200 million in this very exciting and very important initiative, a global action on forest and climate change package, which is our demonstrable contribution to ensuring that we do our bit to reduce the CO emissions that are occurring as a result of deforestation. As Senator Milne perhaps knows, deforestation accounts for some 20 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions, so this is a significant and major announcement on our part. It is very pleasing for me, as the finance minister of this great country, to observe that we are in a financial position to make these sorts of international commitments as a result of our successful management of the Australian economy. Unlike many economies in the world which are running deficits and not doing well at all, we are able to make a substantial investment of this kind in reducing the deforestation in our region, most particularly in Indonesia. I call on the Greens to get up and applaud a great investment by the Australian government instead of whingeing, complaining and never being happy,

Christine Milne (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. I thank the minister for his answer and I am interested to know why he is still trying to take credit for a global process that is already underway. But he could cheer me up by telling me whether or not Australia has committed to supporting the proposals by Papua New Guinea to have forest protection given credit under any proposed 2012 climate negotiations. That proposal has been put forward. Australia has not given in-principle support. Will it do so?

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

Senator Milne asked me if that was the case and then she said it was not the case, so I am not quite sure what she really wants to know. I am no expert on that matter. I am happy to find out for her the truth of the matter and the reasons for the government’s position. As she would know, we are working very closely with Papua New Guinea on a whole range of areas. We have invested a huge amount in our relationship with Papua New Guinea. One of the things we are trying to do in Papua New Guinea is ensure that it has a sustainable forest industry. To countries like Papua New Guinea, Indonesia and the Solomon Islands, sustainable forest industries are vital to their future welfare. We are not telling them to lock up the forests. We want to help them to manage their forests, reduce CO emissions from deforestation and provide sustainable economic futures for their people.