Just 3 of 135 NSW MPs reveal they pay carbon offset on flights for personal travel

Just three MPs of 135 in NSW parliament have confirmed they pay for carbon offsets on flights for personal travel as the Opposition Leader gagged Labor members from answering the question. Premier Gladys Berejiklian also did not answer, nor did Environment Minister Matt Kean despite the pair working on ambitious emission reduction policies. It costs less than a dollar to purchase carbon offsets for a one-way flight between Sydney and Melbourne with Qantas and only $27 for a trip from Sydney to London. A whole of government response was issued by a NSW government spokesman who said all ministers book work travel in accordance with the Ministers’ Office Handbook. The Saturday Telegraph was told the Premier’s private travel arrangements remain private. In an extraordinary intervention Opposition Leader Jodi McKay’s office issued an edict to stop Labor MPs from responding to a list of questions about whether they offset personal and work travel. The Telegraph spoke to multiple Labor MPs who indicated they did pay carbon offsets — one even called confirming this but later would not provide a response after Ms McKay’s office stepped in. Another Labor MP said there had been a blanket “do not respond edict”, adding: “We were told it would be handled centrally from Jodi’s office.” A spokesman from Ms McKay’s office said members’ personal travel is a “private matter” and that work flights were booked through a range of processes “often out of the control of individual members”. Both her office and the Premier’s office were pressed for more detail but declined. The Berejiklian government and Labor are both pursuing hefty targets of achieving net-zero emissions by 2050. It is still unclear how this target will be reached and impact the people of NSW. In order to offset emissions from burning jet fuel, many airlines offer customers the opportunity to donate money towards carbon offset schemes supporting projects that reduce greenhouse gases. Only a handful of MPs were forthcoming about paying for carbon offsets while travelling and not a single Greens MP answered the question. Instead, a joint statement from Greens MPs said: “While consumer-led initiatives are important, to address the climate emergency in NSW we have to pursue long-term, transformational change.” Independent MPs Alex Greenwich and Joe McGirr and Nationals MP Ben Franklin said they paid for carbon offsets when flying “wherever possible”. Another national Michael Johnsen confirmed he did not. “It’s a revenue scam by airline operators,” he said.