Richard Di Natale (Victoria, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is for the Leader of the Government, representing the Prime Minister. On Thursday last week, the Bureau of Meteorology said that the drought that the Murray-Darling Basin was experiencing was 'the most severe in 120 years of records'. Minister, do you and the government accept the advice of the bureau and other scientific bodies that climate change is a significant contributor to current and future droughts?

Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Vice-President of the Executive Council) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Australian government is committed to effective action on climate change. That's why we have taken measures which have ensured that we will meet and exceed our emissions reduction target for 2020 agreed to in Kyoto. And we have a plan to ensure that we meet our 2030 emissions reduction target agreed to in Paris.

Scott Ryan (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Di Natale, a supplementary question.

Richard Di Natale (Victoria, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Minister, given that you've accepted that climate change is a major contributor to drought, and given that the single biggest cause of climate change is the burning of coal, isn't it true that Australia won't have a real long-term plan for drought until we have a plan to phase out coal and gas use?

Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Vice-President of the Executive Council) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

No.

Scott Ryan (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Di Natale, a final supplementary question.

Richard Di Natale (Victoria, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Minister, do you agree with the coalmining lobby, who, at the New South Wales bush summit earlier this month, presented themselves as the saviours of drought-stricken communities, despite the fact that their industry, the coal industry, is the major contributor to climate change? As you've accepted that will make droughts more frequent and more severe, isn't that industry making life harder for farmers right across Australia?

Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Vice-President of the Executive Council) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I'm somewhat intrigued by the line of questioning being pursued by Senator Di Natale, because one of his predecessors as Leader of the Australian Greens, Dr Bob Brown, of course stood in the way. He didn't want us to have hydro energy in Tasmania; he wanted coal instead of hydro.

And you could have knocked me over with a feather the other week, when he had the opportunity to come out fighting for wind energy. Apparently, now Dr Bob Brown is also against wind energy. Presumably, that is because he still thinks that we will need—

Scott Ryan (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Di Natale on a point of order?

Richard Di Natale (Victoria, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It's a point of order on relevance, Mr President. I deliberately kept those questions very short with a very short preamble. I asked specifically about whether the minister agreed with the coalmining lobby that they are the saviours of drought-stricken communities rather than the cause of climate induced drought.

Scott Ryan (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

You've reminded the minister of the question. I'll take the opportunity to do the same. He has 23 seconds to answer.

Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Vice-President of the Executive Council) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I don't agree with the framing of the question. Our government believes that the best way forward in terms of energy supplies is a technology-neutral approach. Coal will of course continue to be an important energy source for Australia for a very long time to come. Indeed, coal is a very significant export for Australia and it will continue to be a significant part of our economy for a very, very long time. (Time expired)