Steph Hodgins-May (Victoria, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on this matter of urgency and to urge the government to immediately release the National Climate Risk Assessment report—not next month, not with the 2035 emissions target, not at some identified point in the future, but now. Australians deserve to know what is in this report now, because they are the ones who will bear the brunt of climate change. Coastal communities are facing inundation, farmers are facing ongoing droughts, and there have been sweltering 50-degree days in our cities. What more evidence does this government need? Farmers, community leaders and climate scientists who contributed to this report all want it released as a priority.

It is the will of the parliament and the will of the Australian people that it be released. Yet a Senate order for the production of documents, a fundamental tool of accountability in this place, was denied under a flimsy claim of public interest immunity—a continuation of this government's shameful legacy of not adhering to one of our most basic democratic principles: transparency. However inconvenient these climate truths might be for Albanese government's media spinners, there is no justification for withholding the report's immediate release.

Just last week, my colleagues and I were on the Great Barrier Reef, listening to scientists from the Heron Island Research Station as we witnessed the heartbreaking reality of mass coral bleaching. Vast stretches of reef that should be alive with colour and biodiversity were, instead, bleached and lifeless. Yet, alongside the devastation, there are pockets of hope. In some areas, corals are regenerating. Nature is showing its resilience, if only we give it all a fighting chance. These reefs are proof that a brighter future is possible if we act now, guided by science and evidence, not by the demands of the coal and gas lobby.

The loss of coral reefs is not just an ecological tragedy; it threatens the communities that depend on them—businesses, traditional owners and thousands of Australians whose livelihoods are tied to healthy oceans. Coral reefs shield our coastlines, sustain rich biodiversity and anchor regional economies. Their decline is a dire warning, but their recovery is an invitation to choose a different path.

Australians deserve to know the truth about the risks we face, and we deserve a response that matches the scale of the challenge—no new coal and gas approvals, a bold 2035 emissions target and decisions grounded in science, not in fossil fuel profits. Enough secrecy; enough delay—the support for an inquiry into the government secrecy around this climate risk report shows just how serious this is, and tomorrow morning the government has the chance to finally comply with the order to produce it. Only then can we act with the urgency required to protect what remains of our precious oceans and our communities.