House debates

Tuesday, 27 October 2020

Matters of Public Importance

Environment

3:58 pm

Photo of Luke HowarthLuke Howarth (Petrie, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Community Housing, Homelessness and Community Services) Share this | Hansard source

We live in a great country. Australia is unique in many different ways. It's definitely the best country in the world, and one of the reasons why it is the best country in the world is our wonderful environment. Our weather is brilliant. We have such a good environment. In 2011, before I came into this place, I had the privilege of travelling right around the country in a caravan for six months with my young family at the time. We really have a wonderful country. In fact, I went to the member for Mayo's electorate, to Kangaroo Island, and was out spotting echidnas and koalas with the kids. It was a great time.

I, as a federal member of the Coalition, love the environment, and Liberal-National governments have done a lot for the environment over the years. It was a Liberal-National government, federally, that created the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act back in 1999. It was a Liberal-National government that achieved World Heritage listing for the Great Barrier Reef, way back in 1981. It was a Liberal-National government that established the world's largest representative network of protected marine parks. It was a Liberal-National government that created the position of Minister for the Environment and elevated that position to cabinet, and it was a Liberal-National government that, just yesterday, passed the nation's first recycling bill in this House, under the assistant minister for recycling—the first in a federal government.

We've also announced the biggest single investment made in Australia's Commonwealth national parks, with millions put into tourism and infrastructure and creating more jobs—Indigenous rangers and jobs in remote communities. We've also invested an additional $216 million, pledged last year, to upgrade and remediate the Kakadu National Park, which I've been to as well; it's a wonderful place. We've also invested $1.9 billion over a decade to implement the Reef 2050 plan, which includes funding to improve water quality, manage the crown-of-thorns starfish and reduce marine debris pollution. This is an unprecedented investment, and what do we get from those opposite when this happens? We've given the money to the wrong group, whoever it is. But the fact is a lot of money has been put into the environment.

Let me say as well: the Liberal National Party shadow minister Mr David Crisafulli has committed $80 million—and you'll know this, Mr Deputy Speaker Vasta—for protected areas in Queensland over the next four years. That's $20 million a year under Deb Frecklington and the LNP, if they're elected this weekend. To put that into perspective, the Labour Party, the current Palaszczuk government, is putting $1.5 million a year into it.

In my own electorate, we're doing a lot for the environment. There are lots of tree plantings going on. Five years ago we put tree planting into Clontarf, Griffin and North Lakes. Those melaleucas are now five metres high. People are concerned about koalas, particularly in the city, because of dogs, roadkill and so forth. I would say to the people in my electorate who are concerned about koalas: look at the LNP's plan before you vote this weekend. There's $80 million for protected areas, including koala conservation, which is $20 million per year, compared to $1½ million this year under the Palaszczuk government.

We're also doing a lot with climate change, as you know, Deputy Speaker. Australia's emissions are down 12 per cent today, compared to 15 years ago, per capita. If you want to go back to 1990, we're down 41 per cent. That's a 41 per cent emissions reduction compared to 39 years ago. We've also signed the Paris Agreement. We've got a commitment of 26 to 28 per cent by 2030. We will meet that target, just like we met our Kyoto target, yet those opposite don't even have a target and those on the crossbench, in their irrelevance, just say we're not doing enough—not all of them, but some of them. The fact is: when you look at what we're doing on climate change, we're doing a lot.

Let me just mention electric vehicles and charging. A lot of people are driving EVs, and the number will only continue to grow. The Morrison government has invested $21 million into electric vehicle charging, for those wanting to make the switch to EVs, and we're doing that without killing jobs in our traditional mining sectors. Only the Liberal and National parties will protect the environment, create more jobs and look after Australia's future.

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