Simon Birmingham (SA, Liberal Party, Minister for Trade) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Waters for her question, although not for some of the inaccuracies in some of the statements that she made.

Senator Waters is quite incorrect when it comes to funding in relation the Great Barrier Reef. This government have proudly provided record levels of funding to support the Great Barrier Reef—to ensure its resilience, to invest in its future—and we do that in partnership, where we can, with the Queensland government and other authorities. This government is also proud of the fact that we continue to be, as a nation, on track to meet and exceed our 2020 emissions reduction target, and we're confident that we will meet, and we hope exceed, the 2030 emissions reduction target that Australia has committed to as part of the global effort.

It's often overlooked when the Greens ask questions on these topics, but addressing climate change issues requires a concerted global effort. Australia is but one nation in relation to that. We, however, are one nation that can be proud of our record of meeting and exceeding the commitments that we made, and we can be proud of the fact that we will continue, where we make commitments, to meet and exceed those targets. Indeed, our work, in particular our work on Australia's emissions per capita and emissions intensity across our economy, means we are at the lowest emissions level in 29 years as a result of a range of policy efforts that have been made, and that contributes towards Australia's efforts to meet our overall emissions reduction target.