Peta Murphy (Dunkley, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

This is a historic document. For the first time ever this parliament is taking climate change seriously, and I am so proud to be a part of it. It is time to stop arguing about climate change, to stop putting road blocks up to this country becoming a renewable energy superpower; otherwise, history is going to judge this parliament and the members in it as being part of the problem and not part of the solution.

The annual climate change statement and the measures that Minister Bowen has put in around that statement are a quantum leap forward for this parliament to speak positively about the solutions. We have a long way to go in this country, there is no doubt. But with goodwill and application from everyone, with members of this parliament choosing to work together for the good of the future and not take idealistic and road-blocking positions from either side of the debate—from the climate change deniers to those who would put the perfect before reality—we can actually achieve a better future, both in the protection of our planet and in the smart, well-paid rewarding jobs that we know can come from a manufacturing industry that focuses on renewables and renewable energy.

See this speech in context