Mr Tony Burke (Watson, Australian Labor Party, Manager of Opposition Business (House)) Share this | Hansard source

In an interview on ABC Radio National on 6 August, the Minister for the Environment and Energy said that I, when I was environment minister, had failed to invest in the Great Barrier Reef. The facts are these. As agriculture minister, I was part of establishing the Reef Rescue program, worth $200 million from 2007, which then provided a further $200 million when it was renewed. Additionally we established the Coral Sea Marine Park and, most importantly, we were a government that acted on climate change.

Mr Speaker, I seek to make a personal explanation.

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