Barnaby Joyce says the "growing" military threat of China is a higher priority for Australia than dealing with global warming.
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The Deputy Prime Minister was on the campaign trail in Muswellbrook in NSW's Hunter region on Tuesday to re-announce federal funding for the town's bypass.
He framed the $268 million road announcement from last week's budget as part of the government's efforts to make Australia richer and stronger in the face of global uncertainty.
"I carved out money for the areas that make money, because in light of current circumstances we need to become as strong as possible as quickly as possible," he told the Newcastle Herald.
"That's self-evident based on the growth of China's capacity in our area, the base in the Solomons, what's happening in the Ukraine.
"You're seeing that the world is changed to unfortunately a more unstable place.
"To do this we have to invest in the export earning of our nation, and we're doing this in the Pilbara, Townsville, Bundaberg, Gladstone and Newcastle.
"This means not only invest in Newcastle but work with our capacity to get product into Newcastle as quickly as possible."
A United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report issued on Tuesday said per capita emissions of developed countries "remained high, particularly in Australia, Canada and the United States".
The government faced criticism last week for not doing more in the budget to address climate change.
I'm sorry if that offends people, but that is priority number one for me.
- Barnaby Joyce
Asked whether the Nationals' constituency of rural and regional areas wanted to see more action on reducing emissions, Mr Joyce told the Newcastle Herald that he had other priorities.
"The biggest issue before us is the instability in our region and the incremental growth of China as basically a military threat," he said.
"I'm sorry if that offends people, but that is priority number one for me.
"That's a bigger priority. If people say a threat to your children, you won't get a bigger one than a military threat.
"If we get it wrong, your children will pay for it, because they'll be the ones going off to serve."
The IPCC report used Australia as an example of how political considerations can block climate action.
"Political, economic and other power relations can lock in dominant institutional and economic structures, making the integration of climate and sustainable development agendas exceedingly difficult," the report said.
"For example, though there have been recent reforms, the initial lack of early progress in Australia's energy transition is partly attributable to institutions of political economy being oriented to providing steady supplies of affordable fossil fuels."
IN OTHER NEWS:
The New England Highway bypass funding comes three years after the NSW government committed to pay for the project before the 2019 state election.
NSW will now commit $67 million in an 80:20 split which mirrors the funding arrangements for the nearby Singleton bypass.
Asked why the government was announcing money for a project which the state had already agreed to fund, Mr Joyce said: "The main thing for the people of Muswellbrook is that we get the thing built."