Larissa Waters (Queensland, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That the Senate take note of the answer given by the Minister for Agriculture (Senator McKenzie) to a question without notice asked by Senator Waters today relating to climate change.

I rise to take note of what I can't really call answers—I certainly posed some questions to Minister McKenzie representing the Minister for Water Resources, Drought, Rural Finance, Natural Disaster and Emergency Management—but perhaps we can generously call it a response. I asked Senator McKenzie about the outlandish claims made by her leader, the Nationals leader and Deputy Prime Minister of this nation, Michael McCormack, on national radio this morning, where, in a somewhat unhinged manner, if you can pardon my description, he described people who were concerned about climate change as 'raving inner-city lunatics'.

  I put to the minister: does that describe the 11,000 climate scientists that last week begged this government for action on the climate crisis? Does that describe the mayor of one of the regional areas that have been hit by these unprecedented and catastrophic bushfires over the weekend? Does that describe the Rural Fire Service captains who, likewise, are making the link between the climate emergency and these absolutely destructive bushfires? And, of course, I asked whether that description describes the actual survivors of these bushfires, who are also making the link between the climate emergency and these bushfires. Perhaps it's a bit awkward for the minister—she can't really throw her own leader under the bus—but she maintained that she in fact accepts the science. Perhaps she needs to have a few more discussions in her party room, because it's very clear that the Deputy Prime Minister, Mr Michael McCormack, thinks climate science is the province only of 'raving inner-city lunatics'.

There has been much commentary about this today, and I'm not going to stoop to name-calling, but I would urge the minister she's representing and her owner leader, Mr McCormack, to refresh themselves on the climate science. There is no shortage of experts who are making the link and begging this government to do the same. In fact, that was the next point I put to minister. There was a request for a meeting some months ago from over 20 former fire chiefs and fire experts. They had written to the Prime Minister himself, as well as to the minister for natural disasters and emergency management, seeking a meeting, wishing to brief our national government on the dangers of the climate emergency, on preparedness for bushfire risk, on how to reduce that risk and on what we can expect if this government continues to do nothing about the climate crisis. But, surprise, surprise, they didn't get the meeting that they sought.

In fact, this morning, Minister McCormack was quite dismissive—I thought he was insulting—of that group of 20 former fire chiefs. He somehow asserted that they were a front group and that sometimes front groups sought meetings with him and it was all very suspicious. He wasn't sure whom he was meant to be meeting with. What an embarrassment when those actual fire experts want to grace this government with their expertise and are desperate for some genuine climate action. Instead, they not only get fobbed off with their meeting request refused but get insulted on national radio by the Deputy Prime Minister of this nation. Unfortunately the minister representing in the Senate here today didn't have a good answer for that. Again, maybe that's because her leader has well and truly put his foot in it and she felt a bit awkward about calling that out. Nonetheless, this is question time. Sadly, there's a reason it's called question time and not answer time.

The last point that I put to the minister was that Australian climate scientists, who are world renowned and do amazing work, have, since 2006, been warning of the increased fire risk from the climate emergency. BOM and CSIRO in 2006 gave a report to then Prime Minister John Howard. It was ignored. But we can't say we didn't see this coming and we can't say that this government haven't had advice at hand from experts on how to reduce the severity and the destructiveness of the force of these fires: by taking action on the climate crisis. Instead, all we hear from this government is that they're sending thoughts and prayers to people who've just had their homes burnt and to people who've just lost members of their family. That does not cut it, folks. You're meant to be running this country and you don't even have the dignity or the humility to take advice from experts on how to reduce fire risk and keep people safe. Surely that is the first job of government: to keep the community safe and to listen to advice from experts. That hasn't happened in this instance and the government continue to maintain that they're somehow acting on climate when we know that we are the world's largest per capita emitter and, even if this government's pathetic targets were met, we would still be the world's largest per capita emitter. It is time to wake up, give the dirty donations back from coal, oil and gas and take action to protect us from the apocalypse that's coming. (Time expired)

Question agreed to.