Matt Thistlethwaite (Kingsford Smith, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

When it comes to climate change there is no doubt the Abbott government has let Australia down. It is now quite apparent to many Pacific leaders that the Abbott government has also let them down. In his first year of office, Prime Minister Tony Abbott rode a wrecking ball through a raft of environmental policies and initiatives. An avowed climate sceptic, he delighted in the task, repealing the carbon price, abolishing the Climate Commission, threatening our nation's marine reserves and winding back the renewable energy target.

Quite simply, Australia has become an international embarrassment when it comes to our policies to tackle climate change. This government's policies were so destructive that they left many in our community and all over the world completely aghast at the extent of this new Prime Minister's irresponsibility in the face of such an unprecedented global threat. This week that astonishment has turned to anger. In recent days, regional leaders have gathered in Papua New Guinea for the Pacific Islands Forum, where they will discuss, among other things, climate change and the threat that it poses to their peoples' way of life and, in certain circumstances, their very existence.

Understandably, it did not take long for the barbs to fly, for the criticisms to come from international leaders about the Prime Minister's and the government's approach to climate change. The President of Kiribati, Anote Tong, wasted no time labelling the Prime Minister a 'bad brother' for failing to take any action that could give the low-lying nation even the slightest chance of survival. The Fijian Prime Minister last week described the government as leading 'a coalition of the selfish'. The Marshall Islands foreign minister, Tony de Brom, has for months now been publicly haranguing and criticising the Australian Prime Minister. This is a big thing. This is not a minor thing to have the leaders of other nations actively criticising Australia, saying that we are harming their very existence and not doing enough.

In Kiribati, climate change has been devastating. It has brought more intense storms and the salinisation of groundwater making it impossible to grow crops, while most of the nation's small budget goes to fixing damage done by natural events with little left over for health, education and social services.

A very insightful recent report was published by the University of New England Professor Lalit Kumar, who studied the ongoing costs that we are going to face for replacing infrastructure due to climate change. The South Pacific clean-up bill, he estimates, over the course of the coming years, will be $21.9 billion. This is a killer fact: Kiribati, Marshall Islands and Tuvalu have 95 per cent of their infrastructure within 500 metres of the coastline. For them, the situation is dire. When Australians talk about climate change, we talk about something that will affect us in the future. For Pacific nations, the leaders now are getting desperate. It is a clear and present danger and they want Australia's assistance.

The Pacific Island Forum was established in 1999 and the group has stood the test of time. But in one conference, Tony Abbott and this government has managed to threaten the forum's very existence, with a number of the nations actively considering walking out—

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Member for Kingsford Smith will refer to members by their correct titles.

Matt Thistlethwaite (Kingsford Smith, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

if the Abbott government fails to do more to alleviate the damaging effects of climate change. They are clearly disappointed with this government's announcement of targets for emissions reductions in the lead up to the Paris conference, quite simply because these are inconsistent with a cap of two degree warming. Australia's commitments will not get us to two degrees. The Pacific Island nations are now saying if we do not cap it at 1.5 per cent, they are going to be wiped out. They know what a present danger this is and what a danger the Abbott government is to their very existence.

The Pacific Islands Forum members are right, they are correct to be concerned about this issue, about their future and about the Abbott government's lack of action on climate change. Mr Abbott is heading to the Pacific Islands Forum in Port Moresby. He needs to listen to the leaders of other nations and do more when it comes to tackling climate change.