Matt Gregg (Deakin, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak against this motion moved by the member for Moncrieff, which appears, really, to be a stew of vague topic references smothered in boilerplate hyperbole and canned indignation. It is quite incredible for this to come from the party that's just looked to ditch net zero and hasn't for 18 years had any kind of cohesive environmental policy which they've managed to coalesce around for more than two minutes.

The recent algal bloom in South Australia is a devastating environmental event; there's no denying that. It's having a massive impact on the South Australian marine environment, businesses and the local community, and the Albanese Labor government has announced $14 million in support for the South Australian government's efforts to combat the effects of this devastating algal bloom and to improve our preparedness for future events. The funding will invest in the scientific research, business assistance and community awareness and support that are needed now, as well as immediate clean-up efforts. We're also investing, in the longer term, in the tools to help improve the ability to forecast climatic events and monitor ocean conditions, including turning a successful trial of a marine heatwave forecast tool into an ongoing service to help governments, industry, decision-makers, researchers and the public better understand ocean temperatures and forecast them accurately.

Labor's environmental record is far from a failure. Since 2022, the Albanese Labor government has passed strong laws to force big polluters to cut emissions so Australia gets to net zero carbon pollution by 2050. This and other actions have reduced Australia's emissions by 29 per cent below 2005 levels. We've also protected—including planned additions—an extra 95 million hectares of ocean and bush, an area the size of Germany, Italy and Norway combined. We've invested $1.3 billion to support the successful Indigenous Rangers Program, including doubling the number of Indigenous rangers, who help manage the feral animals and weeds killing our native species. We've invested over $600 million to better protect our threatened plants and animals and tackle the feral animals and weeds devastating our native species. We've increased recycling capacity by more than 1.5 million tonnes a year, stopping tyres, glass, paper and soft and difficult-to-recycle plastics going to landfill. We've established the world's first nature repair market, making it easier to invest in nature protection. We've lifted our country's emissions targets by half, from 26 per cent to 43 per cent by 2030, and established the target of reaching net zero emissions by 2050, and we've enshrined those targets into the law of the land, sending a message to renewable energy investors around the world that Australia has changed and is open for renewable investment—a stark contrast to what we've seen from the coalition, which seems to engage in self-destruction every time the word 'environment' or 'science' comes up.

Right now, we have this kind of flimflam McFlurry of a motion, feigning concern about the environment at the same time the party has just announced it's ditching net zero. It really hasn't had anything resembling a sensible approach to climate or the environment. We could see the Liberal Party being hijacked by the National Party when it comes to the environment as well. At two elections in a row, the people have overwhelmingly rejected the coalition's approach to environmental policy. The coalition have spent weeks talking about ditching net zero while, at the same time, feigning outrage about the credentials of the Labor Party, which has not only talked about taking action but taken concrete steps over the last three years and which continues in its work towards improving our environment and the sustainability of our sectors. On the Leader of the Opposition's watch as environment minister, the Great Barrier Reef was almost listed as endangered. We've taken steps to protect that environment, among others. If we listened to the coalition and took their path, we wouldn't exactly call that science based.

In the motion, there's criticism about there having been no diary meeting for 18 months, without producing any kind of cause-and-effect argument as to how anything the Albanese government has done has contributed to the algal bloom. It is a horrible event. It is one we need to understand better. We need to make sure that we are doing all we can to protect our local environment. But this is just a very strange approach. When I first read the motion, I thought, 'Oh, the Greens have gone a bit crazy in how they're drafting motions.' But then I was shocked to realise that it's the coalition pretending to care about climate policy.

Well, I guess there's a first for everything, and I am actually comforted by the notion that someone in the LNP cares about the environment and environmental policy. If only that care and concern could be extended to the rest of the party and perhaps used to persuade fellow party members that it's time to act on climate change and improving our environmental policies! I can only hope, from the fact that they have raised their concerns about the environment, that we'll have steadfast supporters for the further actions being taken by the Albanese government over the next three years and we can perhaps be on a joint ticket in our efforts to make sure that we have the best environmental protection laws possible and that we're doing everything we can to address climate change. But right now it just reeks of hypocrisy to see that the party of ditching net zero is talking about the Albanese government's record on the environment. If there's failure on environmental policy, it would definitely be the coalition's, and it's one that has been around for 18 years— (Time expired)

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