Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Environment and Water) Share this | Hansard source

Thanks, Senator Whish-Wilson. I am aware of those reports and I saw them reported, I think, last week. I think all Australians, I would hope, would be very concerned about those developments when it comes to the Antarctic. We are seeing very worrying signs about the impact of climate change on Antarctica as we are seeing similar signs evidenced on the environment generally in Australia and the world as a whole. I'm sure Senator Whish-Wilson, as a Tasmanian senator, is well aware of the investment that the government continues to make in Antarctic research and in funding programs to do with Antarctica; but, again, the evidence that we are seeing highlights again the need for us to continue taking action on climate change both as a country and as a globe.

I recognise that Senator Whish-Wilson probably doesn't support the actions that our government is taking, but the reality is that this is the first government that Australia has had for a very long time that has taken climate change action seriously. It's why we increased the targets on emissions. It's why we've managed to reduce emissions.