Lyn Allison (Victoria, Australian Democrats) Share this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for the Environment and Heritage. In answer to an earlier question, the minister said that a rise in sea levels was likely to have an effect on Pacific countries. But is the minister aware that droughts, storms, surges and salination of soil and water are already causing the people in low-lying countries to move homes and to find higher ground for food growing? Is the minister aware that the coral atolls of Kiribati are less than three metres high and even a small rise in sea levels will threaten the viability of the islands, causing an estimated 10,000 people to have to be resettled. Minister, your government refused Tuvalu’s request for help in settling climate change refugees back in 2002. Have you reconsidered this hardline position now that you finally accept that climate change is real?