E&OE….
Topics: One Tree Per Child campaign, Australia’s emissions reduction targets, Olive Vale clearing
GREG HUNT:
I’m delighted that we’ve been able to launch the One Tree Per Child campaign with an initial Commonwealth contribution today. We want councils, we want communities, we want young people, we want Australian’s right around the country to be supporting One Tree Per Child.
Each child can become involved with the environment, it’s good for them, it’s good for their communities, it’s good for the country and on World Environment Day we’re doing this work at home and globally we want to lead the Asia Pacific Rainforest Recovery Plan, to have that as an agreement and to take that to Paris as a critical element of what we want to do, not just at home but right throughout our region.
JOURNALIST:
It is World Environment Day and the former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan has put out a report calling Australia a ‘climate free-rider’. What do you make of those remarks?
GREG HUNT:
Look I would say this, that Australia is one of the few countries in the world to have beaten our Kyoto I targets, to be on track to beat our Kyoto II targets and we will make a strong, clear, ambitious contribution to the post-2020 target rounds that will be announced in Paris.
JOURNALIST:
Why do you think the report is saying that Australia’s withdrawing from the community of nations seeking to tackle climate change?
GREG HUNT:
Well I can say this, that we are deeply and absolutely engaged. There are very few countries which have achieved and beaten their Kyoto I targets. There are very few countries that have achieved and will beat their Kyoto II targets and we will be an ambitious and constructive and engaged player in the post-2020 negotiations. Indeed, in the last 24 hours we have made a statement precisely to that effect as we are deeply engaged in the current Bonn conference in Germany.
JOURNALIST:
That Bonn conference – the Direct Action policy copped a fair grilling from countries around the world. When will Australia…
GREG HUNT:
With respect, that’s wrong.
JOURNALIST:
Well, there are lots of questions about fairness and whether Australia’s 2020 target of 5% is fair…
GREG HUNT:
No, with respect, your statement carries a presumption that is false, untrue, incredible and inaccurate.
JOURNALIST:
Do you not take the questions about Australia’s fairness as a criticism?
GREG HUNT:
No. Each country is asking questions and each country is being asked questions. What we’ve been party to is precisely what the international community should be doing. We are asking questions of others and they are rightly asking questions of all countries and so that’s how the process should work. And let me be clear – we took a 12 million tonne reduction from a $15 billion carbon tax and turned that into a 47 million tonne reduction in just the first auction alone. So we won’t just meet our targets, we’ll beat our targets and Australia should rightly be proud of that.
JOURNALIST:
You’ve got a lot of confidence in your policy and that 5% target. Some of the questions were when Australia would consider increasing its unconditional target from 15 to 25%. When will you make a decision whether to do that?
GREG HUNT:
Look, we will achieve and we’ll report more on what we achieve for our 2020 targets. That is the equivalent of minus 13%. So our real target is the equivalent of minus 13% on 2005 figures and we won’t just meet that, we’ll beat that. And we’ll have more to say on that before Paris. Right now we’re also deeply engaged and deeply focussed on the post-2020 targets and helping bring the world together to an ambitious and credible outcome.
JOURNALIST:
You are in Sydney to announce tree-planting and funding for tree-planting. Up in Queensland in Cape York, there’s significant land-clearing going on. You’ve said you’re unable to act on the Queensland Government’s request to stop clearing at Olive Vale…
GREG HUNT:
No, that’s incorrect. What I have said is that the Queensland Government has responsibility for Queensland laws. They have found and reported to the Parliament a breach of Queensland laws. So my question to Queensland is – if you have a breach under your own laws, why won’t you act? We have ordered and I have specifically ordered an investigation under Federal law.
So I have responsibility under Federal law and if there are breaches of Federal law, we will act. We know there are breaches under State law because it’s been reported by the Minister to the Parliament. Why won’t Queensland act under breaches that they have detected, reported and announced to the State Parliament? It is unacceptable, it’s irresponsible, it’s negligent and it’s a fundamental breach of Ministerial duty.
Alright, thank you very much.
(ENDS)