Queensland environment minister on climate change as UNESCO decides if Great Barrier Reef classed “in danger”

ABC NEWS (Australia)

A UNESCO delegation has been in Cairns this week as it weighs up whether to list the Great Barrier Reef as "in danger". The Australian and Queensland governments have until February to convince the agency their efforts to protect the world heritage treasure are enough. For tonight's Stateline interview, Environment Minister Andrew Powell spoke with Jessica van Vonderen about the reef and his position on climate change.

Transcript

00:00UNESCO is threatening to list the Great Barrier Reef as in danger.

00:06How confident are you that that can be avoided?

00:09Well Jessica, no one in the world cares more about the Great Barrier Reef than Queenslanders.

00:14For many of us it's in our backyard, it's right there on our doorstep, whether that's

00:19our farmers in the catchments or our mayors, councillors and their communities along the

00:24length and breadth of the reef.

00:25So I know Queenslanders, more than anyone, are passionate about ensuring that we protect

00:30it.

00:31So how confident are you that it can be avoided?

00:33Well that's ultimately up to UNESCO, but we will be working with those communities, with

00:38those people on the ground, with the federal government to ensure that we avoid that.

00:43UNESCO has acknowledged the work and the effort being made, but it's also called for you to

00:48be more ambitious.

00:50Are you prepared to be more ambitious?

00:53Well, I'm the guy that was in this role over a decade ago when we took a very ambitious

00:59step and sat down and said, we don't want to work against our farmers, we actually want

01:03to work with them.

01:04We established best management practice programs with our cane farmers, with our graziers, and

01:09they've since been expanded to the horticultural industry.

01:12And I get the sense that over the last decade that I haven't been in the job, some of those

01:16interactions with our landholders in particular have probably not progressed the way they should

01:20have.

01:21So I'm keen to get back working with our farmers in particular to ensure that we're doing everything

01:27we can.

01:28But importantly, looking at the whole of the catchment as well.

01:31They're very ambitious and there's potentially more that we can do too in that space.

01:35That's my question, I guess.

01:36Do you need to do more in terms of crack down even further on pesticide and fertiliser use

01:43or crack down on land clearing?

01:45Do you need to do more in that space?

01:46Well, I think it's more about working with our landholders than cracking down.

01:50It's about incentive.

01:52But I think there is more that we can do.

01:53But I also have the honour of serving as the tourism minister.

01:57And in your program, you demonstrated what our scientists are doing around more heat resistant

02:03coral and looking at how that sits in the reef.

02:07We know that a number of our tourism operators would love to offer that experience to people

02:12coming and visiting the reef.

02:14They want to get out there in that regenerative tourism and be a part of the solution.

02:18The scientific consensus is that human induced climate change is the

02:23overriding threat to the Great Barrier Reef.

02:25Do you agree with that?

02:26Yes.

02:27Why do you say that?

02:28Well, that's what the literature all says and you can't refute that.

02:33I guess the reason why I ask is that in 2012, you said that you were a bit sceptical and

02:38still to be convinced about the degree to which humans are influencing climate change.

02:44Is that still your position?

02:46It's interesting that that comment was taken the way it was.

02:49I very much believe in climate change and am confident that the science is right.

02:53And that humans are influencing it.

02:55Correct.

02:56So then in terms of climate change policies, the LNP government has committed to net zero

03:01emissions by 2050.

03:03How are you going to achieve that?

03:05Well, the good thing is we're on track already.

03:10The Treasurer and the Minister for Energy is currently reviewing our energy roadmap moving

03:16forward.

03:17We've made it clear that we want to deliver net zero by 2050, but we also want a path that

03:23means we have affordable, reliable and sustainable energy.

03:26And the Treasurer is working on that as we speak.

03:28And you're working with him on that as Environment Minister?

03:31Yes.

03:32How big a role will renewable energy play?

03:34Well, that has a very important role.

03:37And despite some of the conversations that are occurring around the state, renewables will

03:42continue to play and will increasingly play a strong role in our energy mix.

03:47Because so far a couple of big projects, wind farms, for example, have been knocked on

03:50the head.

03:51That sort of seems to suggest a certain direction around wind farms and the government's policy

03:56on that.

03:57Well, at the same time, a number have been approved and are progressing because they've

04:00demonstrated that they're working with the local communities to get beneficial outcomes

04:05for that broader community.

04:07At the recent LNP state convention a couple of weeks ago, there was a vote that the federal

04:13coalition should abandon net zero policies.

04:16Did you vote in that?

04:17I was present, but as you rightly pointed out in that question, that was a motion that was

04:22directed to the federal parliamentary wind.

04:25So you didn't cast a vote?

04:27I was approached with interest as to the discussion and the outcome.

04:29What did you make of it?

04:31Very clearly that there was some direction given by our party members to our federal

04:35colleagues in this matter.

04:36That would be in contradiction to where the state stands.

04:39Well, I don't have an issue with that given it was a motion about the federal parliamentary

04:44wing.

04:45We've been very clear in our commitment to deliver on net zero by 2050.

04:48Well, what's your message to the federal coalition on what their position should be?

04:53I think what we've demonstrated at the Queensland level is you can have a goal, but you also

04:57can take the people of Queensland on that journey as long as you ensure you've got that affordability

05:03and that reliability.

05:04We saw under the previous Labor government that in their rush to achieve certain targets, in

05:09particular interim targets, that we weren't getting reliable or affordable energy.

05:14We were seeing our coal-fired power stations not maintained.

05:17We also saw that a number of renewable energy proponents did not take their communities on

05:22that journey.

05:23So we've made it very clear that we support the renewable energy market, but we want them

05:27to work with the communities in which they're operating.

Category

Transcript

Be the first to comment

Recommended