Melissa Price denies being 'L-plate minister' but is unable to say when emissions will fall

Australia’s environment minister, Melissa Price, says she cannot pinpoint the time when carbon emissions will come down but has nonetheless expressed confidence the Morrison government has the right policies to do the job.

The environment minister, Melissa Price, says she is not an ‘L-plate minister’. 

Price, who has struggled since being appointed environment minister after the Liberal party leadership implosion, told ABC radio on Wednesday night the government was both reviewing some of its policies, and had the right policies, and “no one could pinpoint” when carbon emissions would come down during the at times tense interview with Patricia Karvelas.

On Wednesday Price was branded “an environment minister on L-plates” by fellow Liberal Concetta Fierravanti-Wells after a recent incident in a Canberra restaurant where three witnesses say she disparaged Pacific nations to the former president of Kiribati.

Read the story from The Guardian by Katharine Murphy - “Melissa Price denies being 'L-plate minister' but is unable to say when emissions will fall.”

Go ahead for Carmichael Mine raises concerns from AIMS

Site in Queensland of the
Carmichael Mine
 in Galilee Basin

The Queensland Government has approved mining leases for the $21.7 billion Carmichael coal mine and rail project in the Galilee Basin.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said it was a major step forward for the project after "extensive government and community scrutiny".

"Some approvals are still required before construction can start and ultimately committing to the project will be a decision from Adani," she said.

She said stringent controls would continue to protect the environment and the Great Barrier Reef, as well as the interests of landholders and traditional owners.

Read the ABC story -“Carmichael coal mine: Mining leases approved for $21 billion project in Queensland's Galilee Basin.”

(I’m confused – Australia’s Environment Minister, Greg Hunt, claims we will “meet and beat” our Paris emission commitments and that the Great Barrier Reef is in good shape. Evidence abounds to contradict those assertions with warming oceans, just one manifestation of climate change, threatening the stability of the reef with today’s approval of the Adani mine having a two-fold effect – first, its operation and associated shipping of coal through the reef is simply plain dangerous and risky in the extreme and second, coal is a known and acknowledged danger to the earth’s atmosphere and rather than opening new mines, we should be closing them down and investing in renewable energy – Robert McLean.)

Dr Federieke Kroon has dared suggest
 some agricultural areas nearest
 the Great Barrier Reef be "retired".

Dangers facing the reef have not passed without comment and an ABC story  - “Great Barrier Reef policies not enough to meet targets set out in Reef 2050 Plan: AIMS” – discusses the difficulties.

Australia looks likely to miss water quality targets set out to keep the Great Barrier Reef on UNESCO's World Heritage list, a senior researcher at the Federal Government's own marine science agency has warned.

Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) principal research scientist Dr Frederieke Kroon has spoken out about environmental policies that were supposed to protect the marine park.

One of the possible solutions suggested by Dr Kroon was about “retiring” agricultural land closest to the reef.