Sarah Hanson-Young (SA, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Leader of the Government in the Senate, representing the Prime Minister. US President Joe Biden has made climate action a priority. He has taken dramatic action against coal, oil and gas companies and supported clean energy and is preparing for a climate summit on 22 April. He has spoken to many heads of state, both close allies and rivals, but he hasn't yet spoken to the Australian Prime Minister. Why hasn't this call happened? Is Mr Morrison way down the call list because he's a climate laggard?

Simon Birmingham (SA, Liberal Party, Minister for Finance) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am certain of one thing, and that is that President Biden won't be making his calls or scheduling his call list on the advice of Senator Hanson-Young or the Australian Greens. What I do know is that the new US administration—who we congratulate upon their election, and we welcome the opportunity to work with them—have already engaged deeply with building relationships across the Australian government. The Secretary of State and the National Security Advisor have each spoken with our foreign minister, Minister Payne. The Secretary of Defense has spoken with Senator Reynolds, as Minister for Defence; and Mr John Kerry, President Biden's climate envoy, has spoken with Minister Taylor, our Minister for Energy and Emissions Reduction. So engagement has occurred there, and I have no doubt that discussions between President Biden and the Prime Minister will occur in short order. Those discussions are occurring between our government and the new US administration, as you would expect, right across each of the portfolio levels.

I also categorically reject the description of 'laggard', or whatever term it was that Senator Hanson-Young used. The statistics show very clearly that Australia's record in relation to emissions reduction stands well compared with the rest of the world. Between 2005 and 2020, Australia's emissions fell by nearly 17 per cent—by 16.6 per cent, to be precise. This compares with an OECD average emissions reduction of nine per cent, New Zealand's emissions reduction of around one per cent, or Canada's emissions reduction of less than one per cent. These are the comparisons that show Australia's track record is strong, just as our intention to continue to drive the technological change that will deliver further emissions reduction is resolute. (Time expired)

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

Senator Hanson-Young, a supplementary question?

Sarah Hanson-Young (SA, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I think we would all be interested to know what climate envoy John Kerry actually said to Minister Taylor, because he's made his views about gas being a transition fuel very clear. Last week, he said:

The problem with gas is, if we build out a huge infrastructure for gas now to continue to use it as the bridge fuel—when we haven't really exhausted the other possibilities—we're going to be stuck with stranded assets in ten, twenty, thirty years.

Will the Morrison government be trumpeting—

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

Order, Senator Hanson-Young! Time for the answer—

Sarah Hanson-Young (SA, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

their gas-fired recovery in front of the US again?

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

Senator Hanson-Young, resume your seat! The ability to complete a question can be directly related to the length of the preamble, and, if I call senators to order, I ask them to heed the chair. Senator Birmingham.

Simon Birmingham (SA, Liberal Party, Minister for Finance) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Our government will stand by all of our energy policies that are about achieving secure, affordable, reliable energy for Australia, for Australian industry and for Australian manufacturers while also meeting our commitments to emissions reduction targets. We also stand by the investments we're making in our stretch targets, which are about the technologies necessary to achieve emissions reduction in the future: our targets investing in getting clean hydrogen to under $2 per kilo; getting electricity from storage for firming to under $100 per megawatt hour; getting low-emissions steel production under $900 per tonne and low-emissions aluminium under $2,700 per tonne; getting carbon capture and storage under $20 per tonne of CO2; getting soil carbon measurement under $3 per hectare per year. These are all about how you actually achieve emissions reduction, rather than just grandstand on it, Senator Hanson-Young, and that's where we're focusing the investment and the energy.

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

Senator Hanson-Young, a final supplementary question?

Sarah Hanson-Young (SA, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Will the Morrison government be taking a more ambitious plan to the summit in April? In fact, will you even be invited? Will you be invited and will you continue to isolate Australia on the world stage in the eyes of everybody else who wants real action on climate change? Now the US are making us look like we are laggards—left for dead. What are you going to do about it?

Simon Birmingham (SA, Liberal Party, Minister for Finance) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

We're starting the year with lies and misleading statements in Labor questions and, of course, lots of hysteria from the Australian Greens. The facts of the matter are that our government looks forward to working with the Biden administration. We've already had outreach on a number of levels, including between the minister for emissions reduction and the climate change envoy. We particularly look forward to the fact that President Biden, during his campaign, emphasised the importance of investment in transformative technologies, because, as we have identified, you don't achieve emissions reduction outcomes without those transformative technologies—transformative technologies that have driven the remarkable take-up of renewable energy in Australia and that will achieve change elsewhere, including in other countries around the world who we need to see achieve emissions reductions as well if the world is to successfully tackle this issue together.