Adam Bandt (Melbourne, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

[by video link] This government has a list of achievements that no-one would be proud of. If species extinction was an Olympic event, Australia would sadly be getting a podium finish under this government. Because our environment laws are so weak, Australia has become a global leader in species extinction. We've got environment laws that are so weak that they don't protect animals and they don't protect our environment. But, also, our environment laws are so weak that they don't protect our First Nations heritage either. Under our environment laws and with this environment minister, we've seen the destruction of the Juukan caves. But we've also seen, recently, under this government—approved by the federal Liberal government and carried out by the Victorian Labor government—the chopping down of sacred Djab Wurrung birthing trees in Victoria. That is how weak our environment laws are: they lead to massive extinction and they allow the destruction of natural and Indigenous heritage.

One of the things that the government could do, if it wanted to, is to put in place some strong standards. That's what has been recommended to it by the independent review: a cop on the beat and some strong national environmental standards. The government doesn't want to do that. Instead, the government bowls up legislation which hands off power to make decisions to the very same state governments that the laws are meant to protect us from. It has been state governments who've been responsible for much of the environmental destruction in this country, and we need strong national standards to keep those rogue state governments, which are very often in the pockets of the developers, in line.

But there's some good news. As we've watched significant rates of species extinction and seen, here in Australia, the first mammal climate extinction event, with the extinction of the Bramble Cay melomys, it can be easy, at times, to feel despondent and that the task is too hard. But we are seeing some very good news as well, due to the global climate movement. Climate change is, of course, one of the biggest threats to biodiversity that we've seen. One of the biggest threats to our flora and fauna is from rising temperatures and the fires that we saw burn several billion creatures last summer and take out large parts of our natural environment. What we're now seeing is the global environment movement starting to step up and take action. And our trading partners are listening, even if Australia is not. As a result of decisions taken by Japan, Korea and China, who have all committed to net zero emissions targets, three-quarters of Australia's thermal coal exports are now going to go. Once those targets kick in, 75 per cent of Australia's coal exports, which go to those three countries alone, will not have a home. So we are seeing action on the coal front. In response to the environmental movement and people wanting climate action, we are seeing other countries starting to phase out their use of coal.

But we are seeing this government sitting on its hands and ignoring the reality—the reality that coal now has a limited future. What we should be doing is planning to support coal workers and communities as other countries transition out of thermal coal. I repeat: just three countries alone having now committed to net zero targets means that three-quarters of our coal exports are on borrowed time and will be at zero at some point very soon. Now, that will be good news for the environment, but we need to look after the communities and the coal workers who are currently being sold false hope by the government and being told a lie. The government tells them that coal will remain in the system for decades to come. Labor says the same thing. But it is simply not true. And if you don't want to listen to the Greens, listen to what our trading partners are saying: they don't want it anymore. We need to give our coal communities a future for when the rest of the world tells us to stop digging, because that day is now coming.

That is why we need not just strong environment laws but a green new deal. We need a plan of government-led investment and action to provide decent, meaningful jobs for people in coal communities in this country—jobs in manufacturing; jobs restoring our transmission lines; jobs building new public housing. That is what a green new deal and strong environmental protection and looking after workers and communities looks like.

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