Paris Climate Change Agreement

The Hon. J.M.A. LENSINK (15:12): I apologise to the chamber for having a supplementary question, however it relates to the original response from the minister. How many people did his government send to the Paris climate change discussions and how does that compare to the Australian delegation?

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER (Minister for Sustainability, Environment and Conservation, Minister for Water and the River Murray, Minister for Climate Change) (15:12): I don't know; I can always find out. But I hesitate to say to the Hon. Michelle Lensink, the answer might surprise her, and it might go to show, in fact, the absolute low-level of interest from the federal government to find out how many sessions they were in, how many speaking sessions they had compared to South Australia, for example.

Members interjecting:

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER: South Australians are actually committed to getting the climate change plan, that was adopted in Paris and adopted by Canberra in recent times, through. We are committed to it. The federal government don't have a plan. They have no plan to actually reach those targets. This has been raised time and time again by academics, by experts in the field and their own advisers. They have no coherent plan to reach the Paris targets.

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

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER: They can't show how direct action will actually deliver it without an emissions intensity scheme. They can't even show they have a plan to deliver on the requirements of the Paris accord. So, they have signed it, but they have got no way to get there. They will rely on South Australia and on Victoria and on Queensland with our renewable energy schemes, our projects, our targets, to actually make the federal government—

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

The PRESIDENT: The Hon. Ms Lensink, you have asked the minister a very important question and then you proceed to abuse him from across the chamber while he is trying to answer it.

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order! Allow the minister to finish his answer.

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER: It will be South Australia's renewable energy policies and our energy plan that makes the federal government look good when it goes overseas and brags, or attempts to brag, about its ability to reach the targets that it signed up to in Paris. They have no plan whatsoever to get there. It is South Australians and other states like South Australia that will help actually get there.