House debates

Wednesday, 28 October 2009

Committees

Climate Change, Water, Environment and the Arts Committee; Report

4:57 pm

Photo of Julia IrwinJulia Irwin (Fowler, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

The preference of Australians for coastal living is borne out by any analysis of the spread of our population. As the report notes, 80 per cent of Australians live in the coastal zones around the country, with over 700,000 living close to the sea and less than six metres above sea level. Protecting Australia’s coastal zone in a changing environment is indeed one of the greatest challenges facing our nation. As the report states on its titlepage, the time to act is now. This report makes the case for urgent action and details the first steps to be taken for us to begin to appreciate the full extent of the risks faced by those Australians living in coastal communities and a great many of the 16 million Australians living around our coastline.

A feature of the recommendations in this report is the number which call for further research and data gathering. In looking at the impact of climate change on our coast, there is one thing we know for certain—that is, we need to know a lot more about the factors which can impact on our coastal areas. So it is not surprising to see that from recommendation 1, which calls for a study of coastal zone governance arrangements for addressing coastal climate change impact and adaptation strategies, the major emphasis of this report is on the need for further research. Recommendation 3 calls on the government to increase its investment in coastal based climate change research. Recommendation 5 calls for continued funding for wave climate research. Recommendation 9 calls on the government to establish a coastal zone research network. Recommendation 10 calls for a study of human and resource needs for local government to plan for and adapt to the impacts of climate change. Recommendation 11 calls on the government to set up a national coastal zone database. Recommendation 12 calls for further national coastal vulnerability assessments. Recommendation 13 calls for research into the relationship between climate change and disease. Please be assured I will not go through all 47 recommendations.

Recommendation 16 calls for a comprehensive national assessment of coastal infrastructure vulnerability to inundation from sea level rise and extreme sea level events. Recommendation 18 calls for a major study into the vulnerability of the Torres Strait Islands. Recommendation 19 calls for a Productivity Commission inquiry into insurance of coastal properties. Recommendation 25 calls for the Australian Bureau of Statistics to measure the numbers of tourist demographic changes in coastal communities. Recommendation 30 calls for an urgent detailed climate change vulnerability assessment for Kakadu National Park. Recommendation 35 calls for a national repository identifying Indigenous and non-Indigenous heritage sites in vulnerable coastal areas, and recommendation 42 calls for the expansion of the national coastal zone interface.

So it can be seen that this report sensibly raises more questions than it answers. The calls for research and ongoing monitoring are the key to a focused approach to planning to adapt and deal with the impact of climate change on the coast. Those further recommendations seeking to prepare management plans can only be successful if the research groundwork has been done. We cannot afford to get it wrong when it comes to planning and implementing our response to the coastal impacts of climate change. So the research called for in this report is urgent and vital as it will form the basis for our strategies to deal with the inevitable change to our coast and its impact on the great proportion of our population.

When we look at the key coastal issues, we can see the danger of merely looking at the overall picture. We can agree with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change estimate of a global sea rise of 80 centimetres by 2100, but this must be interpreted in the light of local research. We know that we can expect major impacts and, as much as we can, set them out, as has been done in the 2007 national climate change and adaptation framework, which is quoted in the report as follows:

The coastal zone is vulnerable to sea level rise, increased sea surface temperature, increased storm intensity and frequency, ocean acidification and changes to rainfall, run-off, wave size and direction and ocean currents. The combined influence of sea level rise, storm surge and storm events, including cyclones, may pose severe localised threats and result in damage from shoreline erosion, saltwater inundation, flooding and hyper-velocity winds. Increasing sea surface temperatures can lead to the spread of marine pests and changes in fish stock and bleaching of coral reefs.

That is a prediction that makes the biblical plagues of Egypt sound mild in comparison. In the face of such predictions, you would expect the warning to go out for everyone to head for the hills. But we cannot expect our love for coastal living to be easily dampened. Indeed, we may even expect that the trend to coastal living will increase. And that makes it essential for governments at all levels to plan for the impact of climate change on our coastal areas. The first step in that planning process is, of course, to have access to the most detailed research data. We cannot rely on vague predictions; we need hard data and expert analysis if we are to address the challenges posed by climate change. That is why the emphasis in this report is on that research.

As the committee found in its visits across Australia, in some areas we are already facing the consequences of rising sea levels and storm events. The most serious of these can be seen in the Torres Strait Islands and it is not hard to see the potential impact on such areas as Kakadu National Park. Closer to home storm erosion on the New South Wales Central Coast has exposed more than unstable shores.

The legal consequences and liabilities of individuals and governments require urgent clarification as we can expect more widespread events to cause havoc in coastal communities. Faced with population pressure on our coastal areas, the planning process at all levels of government will be greatly strained. Given the greater research data that this report calls for, we should expect a greater appreciation of the stress placed on coastal areas by development. There can be no argument for allowing inappropriate development in areas at risk from the impacts of climate change. It will be hard enough dealing with the costly and disputed consequences of climate change events on existing private properties and public assets.

This is a landmark report. It places the issue of the impact of climate change on Australia’s coastal zones squarely on the agenda and it makes it plain that the time to act is now. I must add that it has been a privilege to serve as a member of the Standing Committee on Climate Change, Water, Environment and the Arts during the course of such an important inquiry.

This afternoon, I do wish to pay tribute to a woman who I admire greatly, the committee chair, the member for Throsby, Jennie George. I know that this is an issue close to her heart and one that she has a passion for. As opposition parliamentary secretary with responsibility for coastal development in the previous parliament, the member for Throsby definitely did the lion’s share of the groundwork for Labor’s policy. From this background she has grasped the opportunity to place the issue of the coastal impact of climate change on the national agenda and I know she will continue to press for the implementation of the recommendations contained in this report. She is a very strong woman as you know, Deputy Speaker Moylan. I will be pleased to give her my full support in that endeavour.

I thank Dr Mal Washer, the member for Moore and the deputy chair, and all committee members for this outstanding bipartisan report. I would also add my thanks to the committee secretariat, especially Dr Kate Sullivan who has been with the committee from the start—you have done an excellent job, Kate, and deserve the congratulations of all committee members.

A report on a subject of this complexity demands an understanding of the issues as well as the ability to put the issues into a perspective which backs its recommendations with sound arguments. In the course of this inquiry the committee has taken submissions from a whole range of people involved with or affected by the impact of climate change. Some were distinguished experts in their field who presented a clear case for action by government. Others were ordinary Australians with the foresight and concern for the environment to passionately put their case. Some are already working on solutions while others have done much to improve community awareness and I offer congratulations to all of them. Throughout the community as well as the committee there exists the awareness and commitment to take action on the impact of climate change on Australia’s coastal zone. The ball is now in the government’s court and again, as the subtitle of this wonderful report states, the time to act is now.

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