Kate Lundy (ACT, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Local Government) Share this | Hansard source

I am speaking on this general business issue of climate change because we all know that climate change is one of the greatest threats to our community, to our nation and of course globally. The Climate Change Action Bill 2006 recognises that the government has the responsibility to take this issue seriously and make plans to tackle the causes of climate change.

Labor will be having a climate summit in the near future to resolve these issues from our point of view. We have a commitment to have a summit that will allow us to listen to scientists, to business and to the community in general about their views on climate change. That will specifically inform Labor’s position on these issues and on what needs to happen next. Labor is extremely conscious that after 11 years of neglect we have one chance to get this right. Our summit, as it has been announced by our leader, Mr Kevin Rudd, will provide the perfect opportunity for us to determine our position on many of these issues and will help us to develop our plans further. I will be referring to the plans that Labor already have in the public arena. I want to acknowledge also that climate change is not just a question of the environment; the obvious follow-on from that is that it affects all people. It affects the economy and it affects jobs. This is something that I will also refer back to.

I would like to put out a few statements of fact. I know that these statements of fact have been widely acknowledged by most in this place, although not all. Climate change is recognised by many scientists, academics, businesses and the public. Many leaders around the world have already acknowledged, firstly, that changes in the earth’s climate and its adverse circumstances are a common concern of all humankind and, secondly, that human activities have been substantially increasing the atmospheric concentration of greenhouse gases, leading to additional warming of the earth’s surface.

That is a statement of fact. It is a fact that the government’s climate change deniers, sceptics and feigned converts are having trouble coming to terms with. I, like others in the chamber I am sure, will be waiting with interest to see whether the government contribution today recognises the existence and causes of dangerous climate change or whether they are to take the sceptic’s view. I guess it depends on who speaks on their behalf.

Despite the warnings and the mounting scientific evidence validating climate change, the Howard government has failed to act—as they have failed to act for 11 years. Under the Howard government’s watch, Australia has become the world’s 10th largest greenhouse gas emitter and, according to the Climate Change Institute, over the past decade government policy has led to a national emissions increase of 10 per cent. While the rest of the world is working to cut climate change emissions, Australia’s emissions are going up. While 27 European Union countries have agreed to work together to cut greenhouse emissions by 20 per cent by 2020, Australia’s emissions are estimated to increase by 27 per cent by 2020. This is a disgraceful record and an indictment of the Howard government.

While this is a frightening and frustrating prediction, it is unfortunately what we have come to expect from a government of sceptics. Only a week after claiming to be a climate change convert—and I will remind the Senate—Mr Howard backflipped and told the House of Representatives during question time that:

... the jury is still out on the degree of connection—

between greenhouse emissions and climate change. So for 11 years the Howard government have wilfully ignored Labor’s and others’ concerns about climate change. Refusing to ratify the Kyoto protocol has become a symbol of the government not seriously investing in renewable energy and failing to establish a comprehensive policy on tackling climate change.

What has now become obvious from the recent debate regarding climate change is that only a Labor government will take the practical steps needed to combat it and work to protect Australia’s environment and economy and create more jobs. Unlike the government, Labor understands that climate change requires a comprehensive approach. There is no quick fix. That is why Labor is committed to a series of initiatives, including ratifying the Kyoto protocol; cutting Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions by 60 per cent by 2050; setting up a national emissions trading scheme; setting up the $500 million national clean coal fund; establishing a $2 billion green car partnership; substantially increasing the mandatory renewable energy targets; and convening, as I mentioned at the start, a national climate change summit.

A recent Newspoll poll found that 86 per cent of people surveyed believe the government should be doing more to address climate change, and almost 80 per cent want the government to sign the Kyoto protocol. So the government cannot even hide behind the excuse that this is not something that would be electorally popular; it is both electorally popular and the responsible course of action. In stark contrast to both international and public opinion, one day after the Kyoto protocol came into effect, Mr Howard dismissed it is as next to useless—I think those were the words he used. The Howard government’s very strong rejection of ratifying Kyoto not only is proving devastating for our environment but also constitutes a failure of this government to protect and prepare the Australian economy for the future, not to mention the jobs associated with it.

This blanket refusal to ratify the Kyoto protocol means that Australian businesses are locked out of the current international emissions trading schemes. Labor supports a framework that will allow Australia to take advantage of international carbon trading schemes. With carbon markets set to become one of the world’s biggest commodity markets, Australian businesses and our economy are destined to be the big losers if the government remains so arrogant and stubborn in not ratifying Kyoto.

While the Prime Minister and his new right-hand man, Mr Turnbull, dither over the immediate costs of investing in renewable energies and cutting greenhouse emissions, Australian businesses are missing out on long-term economic gains. Australian businesses are not happy about this. We are starting to see their views being expressed publicly more and more—and I am sure privately for some time now—about what action needs to be taken. They want to be engaged in this new carbon trading system. They want to be able to participate in the global economies of the future.

According to the World Bank, in 2005 the global carbon market was worth $A13.3 billion. The market grew to $A28 billion in the first three-quarters of 2006, more than doubling in value over the previous year. Despite the mounting evidence and growing carbon market, the minister for finance, Senator Minchin, told the Age on 15 March this year that he was still in the sceptical camp. This scepticism in a key portfolio like finance shows how deep-seated is this government’s arrogant refusal to address and plan for the economic impact of climate change. It was quite an extraordinary statement and for it to remain on the record and not be refuted by the government says so much about their backward attitude to climate change.

Labor believes it is essential to establish practical measures to protect Australian jobs in the face of climate change. The government has not grasped the fact that climate change has the potential to threaten Australian jobs or that tackling it can create new jobs for Australians—for example, researching and developing renewable energy technology. This ought to be a no-brainer, but we have watched the underspend in some government programs and we have watched this government dance around the issue in the most pathetic way for so many years.

The tourism industry is just one example of an Australian industry where jobs are directly threatened by climate change. I have spoken before in this place about the Great Barrier Reef and its annual contribution of an estimated $6 billion to the Australian economy, supporting thousands of jobs and local small businesses. Whole towns are built on the economy provided by the Great Barrier Reef. But now we know: scientists have made it clear that the Great Barrier Reef is at risk of being bleached and eventually destroyed by increasing sea temperatures as a result of global warming. Not only would this be a massive environmental loss to Australia and the world, the earth, but the jobs and the human impact would be very real when you take into account the tourism industry and economy in that region that would also vanish along with the reef.

Tourism is a specific industry that needs to be addressed. I note that this government is very proud to stand up and boast about the latest tourism results. Even though they were not that good, it did not stop them from boasting about what was out there, particularly with some aspects of international and domestic tourism. It is those kinds of statistics that will change and that will diminish if climate change continues at current rates. This government cannot have it both ways. They cannot stand up and promote what they claim is their good work in the tourism industry and then turn around and ignore climate change, because the two are now forever inextricably linked.

Mr Howard wants us to believe that the best way to protect Australian jobs is to do nothing. I will move on from tourism and use another example. He has cited the coal industry in particular as an industry that will lose jobs if action is taken to combat climate change. He is saying that, if we do anything about climate change, coal industry jobs will go. He has put that out there as a definite statement. That again shows the government’s complete lack of understanding about the issue and its total lack of initiative in dealing with the many and varied effects of climate change.

In contrast, Labor has a clear plan. A Labor government will work to reduce greenhouse emissions while protecting Australia’s $23 billion coal export industry and the jobs of the people whose livelihoods depend on that industry. Earlier this month Mr Rudd; Senator Chris Evans, the Leader of the Opposition in the Senate and Mr Peter Garrett, our shadow minister for the environment, released a discussion paper entitled ‘New directions for Australia’s coal industry: the National Clean Coal Initiative’. The paper outlines Labor’s plan, including: firstly, the setting up of a clean coal fund worth $500 million to generate at least $1.5 billion in new investment by working with the private sector; secondly, setting up a national objective for clean coal generated electricity to enter the national electricity grid by 2020; and, thirdly, increasing funding for the CSIRO by $25 million over four years to assist it in researching and developing clean coal technologies.

Another initiative that Labor has announced to tackle climate change and invest in Australian jobs is the green car partnership. It is certainly a clean, green policy. A Labor government will establish a $500 million green car innovation fund, designed to generate no less than $2 billion in investment in the automotive industry. The green car innovation fund will boost industry research into developing low emission vehicles—such as hybrid, flexible fuel and low emission diesel vehicles. This will ensure that Australia can play a leading role in the global development of green car technology. What a laterally thinking initiative. This is the kind of lateral initiative that Senator Milne was referring to before.

We know that manufacturing is of critical importance to the Australian economy, and we have a proud history of car manufacturing in Australia in this country; but we also know that we face a challenge. Those people who bothered to watch Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth will know that, right at the end of that movie, there are a whole series of initiatives identified that governments and individuals can take. A substantive one of those was to do with what we can do about the cars we drive. Well, this is part of the answer to the problem. It is true: we are not all immediately going to change the way we live our lives or drive or cars. But, by putting in place a far-sighted green car partnership of this nature, Labor is signalling where we need to go for the future. It gives people who find themselves employed in car manufacturing hope that someone is taking care of the long-term future of their particular industry. I know that announcement was warmly welcomed by that sector.

I would also like to welcome specifically the contribution by the Australian Council of Trade Unions. I note that this was reported in today’s papers. Labor welcome this significant contribution by the unions and we will be pleased to ensure that they will be represented at Labor’s climate change summit. Just recently, on 12 March, Greg Combet, the Secretary of the ACTU—accompanied by Mr Garrett, the Labor Party’s shadow environment minister—visited the Austar mine in the Hunter to talk about how the unions and Labor can work together on the challenge of climate change.

Australians know that there is no quick fix and that it is only the Labor Party that can deliver the sorts of far-sighted partnerships and strategies to work together needed to achieve change, not just in the immediate future but in the medium to long-term future as well. Unless we get elected so that we can start putting those policies in place now, it is just not going to happen under the coalition government. We will be no better off. It is like we are in a time warp with the Howard government.

I will conclude today by referring to the Joint Standing Committee on the National Capital and External Territories’ recent briefing from the Australian Government Antarctic Division. On the issue of climate change we know that what is going on in the polar regions of the earth is of major significance and can provide a very deep and concise insight into the impact of and predictions for climate change. I was very interested to hear about the Antarctic Division’s research, particularly into ice cores, to assist, studies. Indeed I note that the research being conducted by the Antarctic Division is not only comprehensive in terms of addressing climate change and related issues but also could be a great deal more comprehensive if they were provided with adequate research funding. I think this would enhance their capability in that regard.

For the record, the Australian Antarctic Territory does cover a vast proportion of the Antarctic continent. With that responsibility comes an extraordinary opportunity for Australia to play a much greater role than it is currently playing in guiding that scientific data, research and information going into political considerations about the impact of climate change. Senator Milne has already referred to things like changes in the ocean currents. When you take into account the significance of the Antarctic continent, you start to understand why research in this area of the world is so critical to the movement of our oceans, and to the movement and nature of our atmosphere and how it all ties together.

I will conclude by saying that Labor will have a national climate change summit. We will be addressing the specific types of issues and propositions contained in the bill before us today; it will guide us. Our main priority through that summit will be to listen to scientists, businesses and the community. We need to be informed in making long-term decisions about climate change and in developing perhaps one of the most important areas of public policy for generations to come. Labor must get this right, and we will put ourselves in an optimum position to get these policies right through our national summit on climate change.