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

Ninety per cent of global warming—or, as the UN Secretary-General now describes it, global boiling—is stored in our oceans. With an unprecedented heatwave in our Northern Hemisphere still unfolding, with records being broken every day, with July set to break the record for the warmest month in human history, an unprecedented 44 per cent of our global ocean is experiencing marine heatwaves right now, compared to an average of 10 per cent. They are the warmest ocean temperatures ever recorded in the North Atlantic, and the same in the Mediterranean. Officially the warmest ocean temperature ever recorded anywhere on the planet was off the coast of Florida last week, at 38 degrees Celsius—warm as a hot bath. Our oceans, reefs and corals that support a quarter of our earth's marine biodiversity are in danger. Our own global natural wonder, the Great Barrier Reef, also recorded its own marine heatwave warning for the end of June, over one million square kilometres of the Great Barrier Reef, for 2,000 kilometres—above average. That is worrying considering it's not even summer yet, with an El Nino summer almost certain to come. Coral bleaching poses the single biggest existential threat to reefs and marine biodiversity around the world.

With such global boiling occurring on land and sea, this will impact ice levels on our planet. Disappearing ice in the Arctic has long been a source of concern; now it's also one in the Antarctic. An unprecedented ice mass, compared to previous years, the size of Western Australia, or Mexico, is missing off Antarctica. Scientists are baffled at the size of the change. To use their own word, they are 'gobsmacked'. It is estimated this once-in-7.5-million-years event is almost certainly due to global warming. Loss of sea ice can accelerate ocean warming, alter ocean currents globally and ultimately raise sea levels, and will have significant biodiversity impacts on krill and other marine creatures.

At such a time in human history, where we are likely facing a climate tipping point, can you believe the Australian Antarctic Division, which does our critical scientific work in the great barometer of the world's weather and climate, is facing budget cuts. We learned last week the Australian Antarctic Division has to cut its operating budget by 16 per cent to find $25 million in savings. We have heard from many sources that many scientific programs planned for this summer, including studies of sea ice, have been canned because of this budget cut. How did this happen? There has never been a worse time for our globally significant and critical Antarctic science division to be facing such cuts. This government needs to commit, especially at such a critical juncture, to prioritising Antarctic science programs. That will be critical to understanding the pace of change we are seeing in the climate and what we can do about it.

Most importantly, the government needs to stop approving new coal and gas mines. Three coalmines in 53 days—that's Labor's current response to this accelerating climate crisis. I noted last week that, when this new data came out about Antarctic sea ice, there was not a word from the Prime Minister or any minister in this government. It's simply criminal to ignore the climate breakdown we are seeing around us and continue to pour petrol on the fire.

In my last 16 seconds: I'm an optimistic guy, but I really hope Senator Canavan might have opened his eyes and taken his head out of his arse and noticed that this planet is changing.