Howard, Beazley trade blows over climate change.


Prime Minister John Howard has attacked the Labor Party's call for Australia to ratify the Kyoto protocol on greenhouse gases as an "inane mantra".
Climate change is dominating the political debate following the release of a report in Britain which finds global warming could cost $9 trillion.
The Labor Party insists that ratifying the protocol is an important response to the problem of global warming.
Mr Howard has told Parliament he will never support Australia becoming part of the Kyoto protocol in its current form.
"I as Prime Minister am not going to take decisions that will put at risk the jobs and the investments associated with the natural advantages that this country enjoys," Mr Howard said.
"Others may, others may choose to do that, but while I am Prime Minister of this country I am not going to betray the natural advantages that this country has.
"I'm not going to betray those associated with the resource industry."
The Opposition says the Government is wrong to say that Australia will meet the Kyoto protocol's greenhouse gas reduction target.
The Government says it will cut its emissions by the amount that would be required under the protocol.
Labor leader Kim Beazley says new figures show Australia will not meet the target of keeping emissions from rising more than 8 per cent above 1990 levels.
"Is the Prime Minister aware of figures released last night by the secretariat for the United Nations framework convention on climate change that Australia's greenhouse emissions rose by 25.1 per cent between 1990 and 2004?" he said.
"Prime Minister, doesn't this United Nations report show that Australia will not meet its Kyoto target on current performance?"
Mr Howard rejects the figures.
"It's misleading to quote the UN report figures because they do not include all sectors of the economy," he said.
"They exclude land use change and forestry, in other words the Leader of the Opposition is relying on bodgy figures."