Andrew Wilkie (Clark, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Right across the country, communities are being forced to come to terms with the rapidly escalating frequency, intensity and the cost of climate disasters. Indeed, bushfires, floods, storms, droughts and marine heatwaves are inflicting growing damage on fisheries, farms, homes, critical infrastructure and local economies. We're seeing it almost constantly, even right now in northern Australia, and the financial toll is staggering. In fact, climate related disasters are already estimated to cost around $38 billion a year in Australia, or about two per cent of GDP, and that figure is only expected to grow. Moreover, insurance claims from extreme weather in the 2020s have averaged $4.5 billion annually—that's about triple the levels of the 1990s.

Bushfire in particular is an increasing risk in my home state of Tasmania, with the fire service estimating that 98 per cent of the state is now bushfire prone, with projections suggesting a 40 per cent increase in extreme fire danger days in Tassie by 2050. This risk, of course, comes as no surprise to Tasmanians, with one in six people living within 50 metres of the bush and with greater Hobart widely regarded as one of the most bushfire prone cities in the world, with more than 4,000 buildings facing at least moderate bushfire exposure. No wonder insurers are sounding the alarm. No wonder taxpayers and ratepayers are increasingly lumbered with the cost of mitigation measures and cleaning up. And no wonder households, more and more, simply can't afford cover.

At the same time, the fossil fuel companies, whose products are driving the climate crisis, pay a pittance in tax. We've seen just in recent weeks, amid global energy shock and geopolitical instability, how many fossil fuel producers are recording record windfall profits. These companies contribute significantly to climate change and profit from global instability, but they don't contribute in any meaningful way to the costs of the damage they cause. In fact, they continue to enjoy generous tax rates and concessions, which are granted to few others, let alone ordinary taxpayers. That's why I bring to the chamber today a petition signed by 35,171 Australians calling on the government to introduce a climate disaster levy. This levy, proposed by the Australia Institute, would be placed on fossil fuel exports so that the companies whose products are driving climate change actually contribute to the cost of the disasters they help to cause. This could raise up to $100 billion each year—money that could be invested in preparedness, mitigation, response and recovery. It's money Australians won't be forced to fork out to cover the damage caused by these multinational companies.

I seek leave to table a copy of the petition.

Leave granted.

I table the petition.