Zali Steggall (Warringah, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Indi for raising such an important matter. The people of Warringah and I stand in solidarity with those in the bush and regional Australia who are doing it tough, experiencing record drought and the threat of bushfires this coming season. In recent weeks, I've had the privilege of talking to farmers from across Australia, who are deeply concerned about their land and their futures. What these farmers are calling for is a comprehensive plan to address climate change mitigation, adaptation and resilience in the agricultural sector. This plan must sit within a broader national climate strategy across all sectors.

According to the National Climate Change Adaptation Research Facility, agriculture is the sector that is most exposed to change in climate in Australia. Domestic agriculture accounts for 93 per cent of Australia's food supply, $30 billion in exports and the jobs and livelihoods of workers employed in Australia's 85,000 farm businesses. These statistics hide the human side. Many of these families are generational farmers—I have dairy farmers in my own family—with deep connection to the land. These are small tight-knit communities who all know each other, have shared weddings, triumphs and crop failures together. They are amazingly resilient, but they are watching the land change before their very eyes. Many have already been uprooted. We simply cannot afford, as a nation, to sit on our hands.

Unless we equip the agricultural sector with the tools and goals to adapt to climate change, and unless we as a country, united, make urgent attempts to mitigate the risk, we risk losses in agricultural production, job losses and loss of export revenue, farm profits declining, food insecurity, increases in food prices and impacts on rural health. Increasing climate volatility and variability are already devastating parts of Australia. Indeed, the drought devastating the eastern seaboard can be seen as a prelude of things to come. To quote the Treasurer on his recent visit to the bush, it must be seen to be believed. If we accept the science, that we need to decarbonise and act, then this is only going to get worse. This is not a problem that is going away. If the very science that we accept on the need to change is telling us we need to do more than we are currently doing, then that is the collaboration we need to find in this place. So we must act.

Farmers for Climate Action are calling for all Australian governments to commit to a long-term bipartisan national strategy on climate change and agriculture to 2050. The goals of such a strategy must be to minimise the risk to agriculture, food security and rural communities from climate change; help agriculture to realise opportunities to build value, make efficiency gains and diversify as the world shifts to low-carbon technologies; strengthen agricultural research, development and extension, which I note the drought fund bill goes some way to doing; build a clean energy sector with the benefits shared with the rural communities that host new renewable developments; realise the long-term potential of working landscapes to capture and store carbon; and identify the gaps in the current policies and programs, both federal and state, and fill them.

Many of these steps have already been taken by individual farmers. We have farmers like Charlie Prell, who I've had the pleasure to meet, who has 28 wind turbines on his land and is now benefiting from a diversified income stream. We also have Nic Charlian who has adopted land management practices that increase carbon sequestration and biodiversity and, as a result, while properties surrounding them are affected by drought, they have managed to remain productive.

But we must broaden these practices to the whole sector, and that can only come through a national commitment. We need more than just individual action. So I thank the member for Indi for her motion, and I hope in this parliament we can find bipartisan solutions to climate change for our farmers and for our national prosperity. It is time for all MPs to stand up and be counted. To all government MPs: please, push for a conscience vote on this motion. Make sure you support it because words will not be enough.

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