Peter Whish-Wilson (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

Not only has the government not answered Senator Faruqi's question on climate change today; they have also not complied with an order of the Senate to provide critical details on their formal response to the IUCN and UNESCO reactive monitoring mission report, which they were happy to release earlier this week. They seem to be very big on rhetoric and very light on detail.

Minister Plibersek has sat on this report for at least three months. She very craftily put the response out this week, nicely massaged, given to favourite media outlets—we know how it all works. No doubt she also spoke to stakeholders and gave them a sneak preview of it. We hear the response from the government. Of course the report wasn't what they wanted to hear. The IUCN and UNESCO committee recommended that the Great Barrier Reef should be put on the 'in danger' list because its outstanding universal values are going to be severely impacted by climate change. It recommended that the government meet its Paris protocols.

Why doesn't the government comply with the order of the Senate and provide its official explanation to UNESCO? Did the government say they were going to meet their Paris targets? We know they have legislated a climate target in this place—with no detail or plan for how they will meet it, by the way—that well exceeds our Paris commitments. We know they don't have a plan for that. Where is that detail?

What else did they say to UNESCO? Did they say it's unfair that the Barrier Reef has been singled out amongst all the world's coral reefs that are suffering because of warming oceans caused by the burning of fossil fuels? What kind of excuse is that, to say the Barrier Reef shouldn't be singled out? We should be showing leadership and saying that's why the reef should be put on the endangered list, so we can all take action right around the world and understand the gravity of the situation we and future generations are facing.

Question agreed to.