Janet Rice (Victoria, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

It is a great honour for me to rise to speak in this National Science Week as one of a minority of members of parliament who have a science background. I treasure my scientific training because of the logical, rational approach to problem solving that that background fostered. That background gives me an understanding of scientific method. Having a scientific approach to understanding the world and the challenges we face is a critical skill that is undervalued in this place and a critical skill that needs to be brought to our decision making in this place.

Sadly, since my days as a science student at university, when I studied maths and meteorology, I have seen respect for science fly out the window. The last few years have marked a low point in support for science by government. However, support for science by the public continues to grow. People recognise that, if we are going to face the challenges of the 21st century, we need the skills to think and reason, through science and scientific method.

Australia has a long history of scientific achievement, from early refrigerators to solar hot water, ultrasound technology, the bionic ear, the world's first frozen-embryo baby, the famous winged keel of Australia II, the wi-fi that we all use and even the dual-flush toilet. Australia has led the world.

But this government, led by Prime Minister Abbott, is doing its best to gut our science industry and to trash our international reputation while it is at it. Unfortunately, the rosy approach to science that Senator McGrath has just outlined in his contribution is far from the reality that we see on the ground. On top of cuts from the previous Labor government, last year's brutal budget slashed spending on research and development. The cuts were continued this year, with research-and-development funding now at the lowest level for 30 years.

Morale amongst the scientists that I know is also at an all-time low. I think of one of the people I know who I have been communicating with on social media, who has just finished a PhD in marine biology. His desperate plea to me was, 'I don't want to have to leave Australia.' He wants to stay here. He wants to contribute to the Australian scientific effort, but he can see the potential for jobs for him. Despite the fact that there is a huge amount of research that needs to be undertaken that is critical for Australia's future, he just does not see that the jobs are going to be there. He can see that, if he wants to continue to work in his field and use his skills as a scientist, he is going to have to go overseas.

In the Treasurer's budget night speech, not once was the word 'science' used—not once! We have to turn the corner and see that investment in science and research is vital for our wellbeing and the economy. When the mining boom is over, we will need something to sell to the rest of the world. The Greens want to see scientific pursuits like renewable energy research and medical research get the same kind of multibillion-dollar support that is currently given to fossil-fuel companies. But, instead of encouraging science, this government just wants to deny it.

The lack of scientific literacy, the lack of value that this government places on science, is alarming. The science tells us that we have to act to combat climate change, we have to act now and we have to act seriously. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is an incredible international institution bringing together thousands of scientists to reach consensus agreements on the science of climate change. Research undertaken by IPCC scientists around the world, including in Australia by CSIRO and the Bureau of Meteorology, has informed the position taken by the Climate Change Authority, which has said, based on the science, that we need to cut emissions by 40 to 60 per cent by 2030 to protect our community from the devastating impacts of global warming on our health, the health of our environment and the health of our economy. Yet we have a Prime Minister who dismisses the science as 'absolute crap'.

The science tells us that we have to make the shift from fossil fuels to clean energy, like wind and solar, and we have to do it extremely quickly, yet we have a Prime Minister who insists that coal is good for humanity, and brags about reducing the renewable energy target. The science tells us that there is no credible evidence about the negative impacts of wind farms. The science actually shows that these false claims can make people sick. Yet we have a Prime Minister who continues to perpetuate myths about the impacts of wind farms. It is time for the Prime Minister and his government to start listening to the science and to the community instead of providing an unfiltered ear to the big polluters, their slick lobbyists and the mega political donations.

The science does not tell us that burning native forests for energy is in any way renewable, that creating massive new coalmines has no impact on the climate or that culling sharks has any benefit to swimmers' safety, but the government does not want to listen. It was recently made public that the environment minister had a report sitting on his desk from eminent scientists Andrew Macintosh and Professor David Lindenmayer showing that ending logging in Victoria's Central Highlands would have a carbon abatement of three million tons every year, which, based on the price the government paid earlier this year of $14 a ton for carbon, would be worth more than $40 million every year. The science tells us that ending native forest logging throughout the country would be worth billions of dollars in carbon abatement. It would reduce the effects of climate change, boost local jobs in tourism and save some of our most endangered and precious animals.

Science is waving its arms in the air with the answers to our future prosperity. It is shouting about the industries of the future that are in research and development, in manufacturing clean energy products like electric cars and solar panels, and in ensuring the coming generations receive a world-class, scientifically-based education. But this government simply refuses to listen. This government's attitude to science highlights that they have no plan or vision for the future. In this National Science Week, we must open our ears and let science be the hero.