On Wednesday 11 December 2024 during Question Time, I asked the Environment Minister whether he still holds his "sceptical" views about man-made climate change expressed in 2012. You can read my question and his response below, or in the official Parliamentary record of proceedings ("Hansard") here.
Mr BERKMAN: My question is to the Minister for the Environment and Tourism and Minister for Science and Innovation. Last time the minister held this portfolio in Campbell Newman’s cabinet he oversaw the abolition of the office of climate change. Does the environment minister still hold the same view he expressed then that he was not 100 per cent convinced and ‘always going to be a bit sceptical’ of anthropogenic climate change? I table a 2012 Brisbane Times report by way of verification.
Tabled paper: Article from the Brisbane Times, dated 5 June 2012, titled ‘Environment minister’s climate science doubts “refreshing”‘.
Mr POWELL: What a surprising question from the member for Maiwar. I will address the content of the question in due course, but I will note a couple of things. I believe the member for Maiwar accredited the fact that he is in this chamber to this—and I do apologise to all my colleagues and to those opposite that he is here—because, yes, it is true, in 2012 we did axe the office of climate change. One of the employees of that office was the member for Maiwar. He subsequently determined to run for politics. He has stated that quite clearly.
What I would say to the member for Maiwar, before I answer the substantive aspect of the question, is that as you would have rightly noticed, the office of climate change has gone to the Treasurer’s department and is part of our focus on renewable energy and it is through that that we have discovered the extraordinary cost blowouts on projects like Pioneer-Burdekin. Those projects were a scam. As I have sat preparing reports to the likes of UNESCO around our ability to deliver the targets that we have signed up to, we have had to tell the likes of UNESCO that those opposite had absolutely no way of delivering on those targets when projects like Pioneer-Burdekin were going to cost well over $30 billion.
Mr Crisafulli: It was a con!
Mr POWELL: I will take the interjection from the Premier. It was an absolute con. They were conning not only the people of Queensland and this nation of Australia, but also the international community on what they believed they could achieve through their crazy Energy and Jobs Plan. On this side, under the leadership of the Treasurer and his focus on delivering in terms of renewable energy, we will meet those targets. We will do them in a far more responsible way, trusting—
Mr BERKMAN: Mr Speaker, I rise to a point of order. The minister is nearly out of time and he is yet to answer the question about whether he maintains his climate sceptical views. I would ask him to return to the question.
Mr SPEAKER: The minister has the call. The question had more than one part. The minister has responded to one. It is up to him to respond to the others.
Mr POWELL: Let me conclude on that aspect. We will deliver on those targets. We will do it in a responsible way. We will do it by respecting our taxpayers dollars. We will do it by working with the private sector to deliver on those. Whilst the question was seeking an opinion, I will say this: I said when I was the environment minister previously that I believed in climate change. I stand by those comments. How the likes of a number of news outlets chose to report that is up to them, not on me. I stand by my comments previously. I stand on my comments again.