Sharon Claydon (Newcastle, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

It's with great pleasure that I speak to this motion moved in the name of my good friend and colleague the member for Jagajaga today, because on 21 May of this year Australians voted for change. They rejected the Morrison Liberal government's refusal to take action on climate change; the blatant disregard for science; and the brutal and senseless climate wars that prevented any real action on climate change for more than a decade. Australians also understand that we have a very important role to play as a member of the Pacific family and that taking action on climate change is a crucial issue for our Pacific neighbours. As Fiji's Prime Minister, Mr Bainimarama, tweeted after meeting with foreign minister Penny Wong in June, 'Our main concern isn't geopolitics—it's climate change.'

The previous government was responsible for years of neglect in the Pacific. Former Prime Minister Scott Morrison's inaction on climate change, cuts to development assistance, poor management of Pacific labour mobility programs and disrespect for our Pacific neighbours eroded trust in Australia across the region. The Morrison government underinvested in core elements of our international relations and left vacuums for others to fill. The former Liberal government slashed Australia's official development assistance budget by $11.8 billion, shut down the Australia Network and forced the cessation of ABC short-wave radio transmission in the Pacific—a service which, according to reports, has now been taken over by Chinese state owned radio providers.

Labor, however, has long advocated for deeper engagement with Pacific countries, to meet our shared challenges and build our region's resilience. That's why the Albanese Labor government has hit the ground running, with the Prime Minister, the foreign minister and the Minister for International Development and the Pacific all spending significant time in the Pacific in our first 100 days of government. Labor will continue to strengthen Australia's Pacific partnerships by delivering a comprehensive package of new programs to secure our region and build a stronger Pacific family. Australia is proud to be part of the Pacific family, but being part of a family means that you listen to each other, and the Pacific family have been very clear: climate change is the No. 1 security threat to both their nations and their peoples. Australia stands shoulder to shoulder with Pacific island countries in response to the climate change crisis.

The Prime Minister joined Pacific island leaders in Fiji last July, declaring a climate emergency and a commitment to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. This was an incredibly important meeting and one that had been long overdue, and it was vital in being able to reset our relationships in the Pacific and send a very clear message not just to our region but to everyone watching that the Australian government is taking this issue extremely seriously and that we understand our Pacific neighbours' anxiety about the lack of action on climate change for the last decade.

The diplomatic agreement that was reached at that meeting in Fiji has already been followed with concrete action, and that is exactly what our Pacific neighbours want to see. The Albanese Labor government has passed the Climate Change Bill 2022 through the lower house. That bill will deliver on our election commitment to reduce Australia's greenhouse gas emissions to 43 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030 and to reach net zero by 2050. We have also internationally agreed to these targets by signing up to them at the United Nations. The Albanese Labor government has also made a bid to host a United Nations conference of the parties on climate change by 2024, in partnership with the Pacific. I can't think of anywhere more appropriate to host a climate change global conference than in the Pacific. Labor committed to this during the election. We intend to see it through because, unlike the former Liberal government, we will always work in partnership with Pacific nations, because that's what families do. (Time expired)

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