Dean Smith (WA, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister representing the Minister for Climate Change and Energy, Senator Ayres. Minister, the Albanese government's National Climate Risk Assessment report claims that losses in Australian property values are estimated to increase to $611 billion by 2050 and could increase to $770 billion by 2090. During the recent Senate estimates, officials confirmed that these numbers, drawn from the 2019 Climate Council report, were not independently verified before being included in the government's assessment. Does Labor still stand by the claim, also made in the 2019 Climate Council report and contained in the climate risk assessment report, that Australian property values will fall by up to $571 billion within the next five years, or will you concede that this figure is inaccurate and misleading to Australians—yes or no?

Tim Ayres (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Industry and Innovation) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

No.

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Smith, a first supplementary?

Dean Smith (WA, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Minister, will you remove these unverified, alarmist figures from your report or keep misleading Australians with the claim of a property collapse of more than half a trillion dollars in the next five years—yes or no?

Tim Ayres (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Industry and Innovation) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I never want to disappoint Senator Smith. No.

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Smith, a second supplementary?

Dean Smith (WA, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Minister, if no verification was done on the figures in question, how can Australians trust any of the other modelling or data contained in the climate risk assessment report?

Tim Ayres (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Industry and Innovation) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I have lost the thread of his question a bit, but this government believes in science and we believe in the validity of the modelling.