House debates Questions without Notice
Climate Change
Kim Beazley Brand, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition
2:59 pm
My question is to the Prime Minister. It follows his repeated statements in question time today that Australia will meet its Kyoto targets and his repeated criticisms of those European and other states who are not meeting theirs. Is the Prime Minister aware of figures released last night by the secretariat for the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change that Australia’s greenhouse emissions rose by 25.1 per cent between 1990 and 2004? Doesn’t this United Nations report show that Australia, on current performance, will not meet its Kyoto target?
John Howard Bennelong, Liberal Party, Prime Minister
In answer to that question—and I am surprised the Leader of the Opposition has asked it—it is misleading to quote the UN report figures because they do not include all sectors of the economy and they exclude land use change and forestry. In other words, the Leader of the Opposition is relying on bodgie figures.
Peter Costello Higgins, Liberal Party, Treasurer
They are gross figures.
John Howard Bennelong, Liberal Party, Prime Minister
As I am reminded by the Treasurer, they are gross and not net figures.