Kylea Tink (North Sydney, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

I rise today to speak to the Climate Change Bill 2022 and the Climate Change (Consequential Amendments) Bill 2022 on behalf of the people of the federal seat of North Sydney. Let's be clear, these bills do the following: they enshrine in legislation Australia's commitment to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 and 43 per cent by 2030 as Australia's nationally determined contribution under the Paris Agreement and they also provide for an annual statement to the parliament on progress towards achieving those targets. In preparing this statement the minister is required to consider advice provided by the Climate Change Authority and may take advice from other sources.

If the election result of last May told us anything, it was that the people want faster action on climate change. It has been incredibly heartening to see the new government prioritise the development of this legislation. Having consulted with the North Sydney community, I believe these bills are an important symbolic first step in what will be an exciting time of transformation for our country. As a constituent in Crows Nest said to me, it is heartening for climate change to be acknowledged and accepted instead of being ignored and avoided. But, to be clear, as a community we continue to want faster action on climate change led by facts, not politics.

This is the critical decade for climate action and the decisions made in the next three years will fundamentally affect our children's and their children's future. We need a clear and actionable plan to reduce national emissions, guided by experts, to achieve at least 60 per cent by 2030. As an electorate with one of the highest concentrations of rooftop solar in the country, North Sydney is uniquely placed to both benefit from and inspire others to achieve a faster transition to 100 per cent renewable and sustainable energy. As a community we are already pushing for active collaboration between local councils and the state government to make the federal seat of North Sydney one of the first net zero urban energy zones in Australia as we transition to a fully electrified community as quickly as possible.

North Sydney will also fight to protect and enhance our green corridors, as these are fundamental to the nature of our community. We will do this by ensuring any infrastructure projects undertaken in our electorate provide solutions for the next century. Climate change and biodiversity loss are closely interconnected and share common drivers through human activities. Both have predominantly negative impacts on human wellbeing and quality of life. We must address both issues with urgency and recognise impacts happen simultaneously and that projects must therefore be reviewed in light of their cumulative impact.

Over the past week I've consulted with the North Sydney community on these bills. I have heard from households, health professionals, small businesses, company directors, parents and emergency service volunteers. On balance over 96 per cent of my constituents who have engaged in that conversation think we should support this legislation to get things started. To quote my constituents: 'This seems like a good start and a base for further improvements in the future,' or, 'We need to aim higher, but this legislation is a fundamental first step.' One of my favourites was: 'It is the best we have had for years. It gives me hope.' I have heard this message loud and clear from North Sydney, to not miss the current opportunity to move forward, but I've also heard the message that we must keep the pressure on to develop policies and a comprehensive plan to exceed the 43 per cent target.

In the space of the past few weeks, we've seen the minister work constructively and in good faith with members of the crossbench to improve these bills, and what we will hopefully see pass in this place this week is a springboard for greater action and greater ambition to meet the size of the challenge ahead of us. I entered conversations with the minister informed by principles of recognising the importance of scientific targets and ensuring that the current emissions reduction target of 43 per cent is a floor, not a ceiling. I was guided by the principle that we must be able to ratchet up ambition in a sustainable way so that we meet our commitments under the Paris Agreement to pursue a limit on warming of 1.5 degrees. I was also driven by the principles of doing politics differently and taking politics out of climate policy. I advocated for a multipartisan approach—for example, through the establishment of a joint parliamentary committee which reflected the new balance of power across the parliament, and for increased integrity and independence for the Climate Change Authority.

The initial draft that was shared with me as a member of the crossbench some weeks ago relied heavily on putting parliamentary and public trust in the climate change minister to do the right thing. The truth is that, while that's admirable, it's not good enough when it comes to legislating positive change, so I've worked with members of the crossbench and the minister to increase the role of parliament—all members of parliament—to increase transparency and to enable greater insight into what advice is being received from where and when. The amendments that I fought for will help ensure parliamentary responsibility and accountability over the minister's response to scientific advice that comes forward from the Climate Change Authority. This is how we will keep climate policy on track, regardless of which of the major parties may be in government.

There remain several aspects of the bill and the government's broader climate policies which still urgently require action, which I'd like to briefly outline. Whilst the bill is an important symbolic first step, climate action must be enhanced by grounding longer-term carbon emissions reduction targets in science based principles. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has warned countries that the current 2030 targets will ensure we hit 3.2 degrees Celsius of warming this century. This will devastate our economy and our environment, which are already reeling from the impact of fires and floods. Australia, thanks to the action taken by the states and despite the laggards in the last parliament, is currently already on track for a 37 to 42 per cent emissions reduction by 2030. I do not want to see this government and this parliament rely on that progress as an excuse to do nothing.

We know that to align with the science and Australia's commitment to the Paris Agreement the government must meet the long-term target of net zero by 2050 and urgently present a whole-of-government plan to decarbonise the Australian economy. A whole-of-government plan must include a national adaptation plan and a response to a national climate change risk assessment; the phasing out of subsidies for coal and gas, with no new coal and gas extraction projects; and the ruling out of biomass energy from burning native forest wood products as renewable energy. We must see detailed sector by sector emissions reduction plans for all sectors of the Australian economy, not just those covered by the government's pre-election policies of electricity, industry and carbon farming.

We must have a plan for reducing transport emissions, which have been increasing up until recently. Australian cars currently run on some of the dirtiest and most emissions intensive fuels in the world. Dirty fuel is particularly problematic for our North Sydney community, with some of the highest levels of traffic passing through our electorate every day. I will push this government to deliver legislated vehicle and fuel efficiency standards in Australia.

The government must also address various fossil fuel legacies left behind by the previous government, including the composition of the Climate Change Authority board, to ensure that it can provide independent scientific advice and not be held hostage to the interests of the fossil fuel lobby. While the floor of 43 per cent could definitely have been more ambitious, I believe that rather than focusing on what this bill is not we should see it for what it is: an important signal to both our domestic and our international markets on the direction we are headed.

I am grateful to have had the opportunity to work with the government on this legislation, an outcome which would not have been possible if I had not been elected as the Independent for North Sydney.

We have a long way to go. I will continue to advocate for the changes the people of North Sydney want to see, including pursuing cleaner petrol and stronger fuel efficiency standards for Australian vehicles. But at least the conversation and positive change is underway. I commend this bill to the House.

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