Direct Action Plan

The Hon. J.M.A. LENSINK (14:28): Did the South Australian government apply for any funding under the direct action program and was it successful, and if so, what did it receive and for what programs?

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER (Minister for Sustainability, Environment and Conservation, Minister for Water and the River Murray, Minister for Climate Change) (14:29): I do not have the details of those applications. I do know there are some South Australian organisations that have applied for funding, I'm not quite sure whether they were successful yet as not.

The Hon. J.M.A. Lensink interjecting:

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER: Well, we can go to how terrible the policy is. The Hon. Michelle Lensink has just reversed her position completely. She now accepts that the federal Liberal government's policy is a terrible policy. Obviously she was listening to my information in my answer, Mr President, but—

The Hon. J.S.L. Dawkins: And you talk about verballing people!

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER: It is exactly what she said across the chamber, Mr President; I am only repeating her own comments.

The Hon. J.S.L. Dawkins interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER: We know, indeed, one of the greatest critics of the federal government's direct action policy was of course Malcolm Turnbull. Malcolm Turnbull said, 'It is a fig leaf'—

The Hon. K.J. Maher interjecting:

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER: Not now as Prime Minister. He had to give up those views to actually get the top job. But, prior to that, he said direct action was a 'fig leaf'—a rubbish policy that will not deliver the abatement, the emissions reduction, this country needs to actually just get to the weak, insipid targets that this country signed up to in Paris—one of the weakest targets in the world. Australia adopted one of the weakest targets in the world and they have not even got close to it.

Members interjecting:

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER: Well, yes—

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER: —the Greens are supporting that federal Liberal government, of course. I seem to recall that the Greens at the federal level in fact voted against Kevin Rudd's price on carbon. That is how principled they are.