Peter Whish-Wilson (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

I will if no-one else is on their feet. We saw this government when they were elected in 2013. Mr Tony Abbott, in one of the most ruthless and cynical political campaigns in this country's history, tore up all the parliamentary work that this parliament has legislated on clean energy, on transitioning our economy and on reducing our emissions. It was on the basis of one slogan: 'Axe the tax'—the cost of living, the cost of taking action on climate.

I ask Australians and especially small businesses out there who are suffering: what is the cost of inaction? If you listen to the best available science—and I know Senator Molan and others on that side don't want to listen to that science—we're on track for much worse in the future of this country if we don't reign in emissions and we don't show global leadership. This summer has to demonstrate to us that we are one of the most vulnerable countries in the world to extreme weather events from a changing climate, from a climate crisis. Australia stands to lose so much if we don't act.

While we have these unprecedented fires and we have these devastating impacts on small businesses in our communities, what do we get from this parliament? Today we got some stupid, hysterical debate in the other place about funding a coal-fired power station—government funding, taxpayers funding a coal-fired power station. On one hand this government wants to put in money to prop up a dying coal industry with its stranded assets for its own short-term, cynical political purposes, and on the other hand they take $76 million of taxpayers' money and give it to small businesses who have lost their livelihoods from these catastrophic fires, from these extreme weather events. The hypocrisy in this is actually sickening.

Australians want to see both chambers of their parliament, the House and the Senate, come together, put their political differences aside and act on climate change. While we can be kind and give public funds to small businesses, to farmers and to individual communities—while we can donate personally through philanthropy—the kindest and most honourable thing we can do, the highest possible honour we can give our fireys, those who lost their lives and those who have been impacted, is actually taking the threat of climate change seriously and mitigating the risks, doing what is essential. If we want to make sure that we don't see more disasters, more crises, more sadness, more heartbreak in future summers of this country in places like the east coast of Australia, in Western Australia, in South Australia, in Tasmania and, indeed, in the Northern Territory, we need to do something.

I am bitterly disappointed that in this week that we've been back to parliament, we're back to the same old tricks, the same old debates, talking about how we can prop up coal-fired power stations, rubbing our hands together gleefully about new coalmines, pushing ahead with offshore oil and gas development, fracking, and seismic blasting in Lake Macquarie in New South Wales. When it is going to end? When are we going to wake up and realise that we're at this time in history where we need to take strong, decisive action? We need to take radical action to curb emissions. We need to take the strongest possible action to act on climate change.

We have no time left. The time to transition to gas, to go to the middle ground, was 20 or 30 years ago. So I say acting on climate is the best thing we can do for small businesses and our communities around this country.