CLIMATE CHANGE —
PACIFIC ISLANDS FORUM
902. Hon TIM CLIFFORD to the Leader of the House
representing the Premier:
I refer to the Pacific Islands Forum
held last week, specifically the conduct of the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime
Minister.
(1) Does the
Premier condemn the comments made by the Deputy Prime Minister that Pacific
nations' people will survive the impacts of climate change by coming to
Australia to pick fruit?
(2) Does the
Premier endorse the Prime Minister's conduct at the forum, and the
watering down of the agreement by removing all references to coal, limiting
warming to less than 1.5 degrees and setting out a plan for net zero emissions
by 2050?
(3) Does this
government continue to endorse this federal government as the most appropriate
body to reduce Australia's contribution to global emissions?
The PRESIDENT: Leader of the
House, I think the first part of that question might have been a bit out of the
ballpark, and I do not think the Premier has the capacity to make comments on
what the federal government is doing. I am not too sure whether you have a response
to the remainder of that question.
Hon SUE
ELLERY replied:
Certainly, parts (1) and (2) are
asking for an opinion, and the Premier, in accordance with standing orders,
does not provide an opinion; however, I do have an answer.
(1)–(2) The
state government's long-held position is that the federal government
needs to provide national leadership on
reducing emissions to deliver a consistent policy across the country and
provide international leadership on this issue.
(3) The federal
government is the appropriate level of government to tackle this issue as per
section 51(xxxix) of the Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act 1901. In
December 2018, the intention to create a new state climate policy was
announced. This policy will be developed to draw together and build on
climate-related initiatives already underway, including measures to enhance
renewable energy, secure our water supplies, accelerate the uptake of electric
vehicles, and unlock our state's significant carbon sequestration
potential.