14 January 2009
DAFF09/71T
Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry - Tony Burke
E & OE
TONY BURKE: Climate change is one of the greatest challenges facing the world and Australia. All the projections have Australia as one part of the world most at risk from climate change. Certainly our farmers have more at stake in making sure that Australia is part of the solution on climate than pretty much any other sector of the economy.
This morning on ABC radio, the Leader of the Nationals [in the Senate] Barnaby Joyce made some offensive, extraordinary comments regarding climate change. He drew comparisons between responding to climate change and Nazi Germany.
We’ve become used to the fact that Malcolm Turnbull is willing to tolerate climate change sceptics and a front bench which can’t agree on anything. He will tolerate a Coalition partner that only votes with him when it feels like it.
Even Malcolm Turnbull shouldn’t put up with these sorts of offensive comparisons. Surely even Malcolm Turnbull would draw the line at comparisons that Barnaby Joyce has made today. Surely even Malcolm Turnbull would be willing to stand on principle and say that those comments by Barnaby Joyce this morning are out of line and should be publicly separated from anything else to do with the Coalition.
JOURNALIST: (inaud)
TONY BURKE: We went through the consultation process on the Green Paper through to the White Paper, with strong engagement from industry, to make sure we put forward a package where we got the balance right.
We’ve got the balance there in the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme to make sure that industries can deal with the challenges of the transition, whilst making sure that Australia is part of the economy of the future and can credibly argue for significant emissions reductions for the major emitters around the world.
That balance is there in the White Paper. As we deal with the other parties in the Parliament, we intend to put that case and try to make sure we can get a good outcome for the future of Australia.
JOURNALIST: (inaud)
TONY BURKE: We don’t know yet whether Malcolm Turnbull believes [Barnaby Joyce’s] comments are acceptable. Malcolm Turnbull seems to tolerate any contrary view and doesn’t seem concerned about what opinion you stand for at any time of the day.
I would hope that even Malcolm Turnbull would say the comparisons with Nazi Germany drawn today by Barnaby Joyce are out of line and should be publicly refuted. That is something that Malcolm Turnbull should do today.
JOURNALIST: (inaud)
TONY BURKE: The Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme provides a market mechanism which allows industry to adapt to the needs of the future.
For the first time there is actually a charge and a licence to give businesses incentive to produce less carbon pollution. It’s about allowing the market to make that transition towards the future. That’s what the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme is there to do.
The Coalition’s position at the moment – as advanced today by the Leader of the Nationals [in the Senate] – appears to be to bury their heads in the sand. It appears that the Coalition is quite comfortable saying, “Let’s just pretend it’s not happening.”
That’s the worst outcome for Australians. It would let Australia down terribly to follow their path and pretend that all the scientists are wrong, that all the countries in the world that have started to move along this path are wrong and to be a model of climate change deniers.
Malcolm Turnbull is quite happy and willing to tolerate those sorts of people on his front bench. We now find out today whether or not he is willing to stand for anything at all.
JOURNALIST: (inaud)
TONY BURKE: We believe that we’ve put forward a proposal which gets the balance right and we approach the Senate in that way. Of course there are consultation processes which happen in the course of those debates in the Senate. We could give certainty right now if Malcolm Turnbull were willing to stand up and rule out the comments of Barnaby Joyce, made this morning.
ENDS