Chris Hayes (Werriwa, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

As to where I left off last night, I was talking about the issue of climate change during this debate on Appropriation Bill (No. 3) 2007-2008. Clearly, this is one of the main issues that is resonating with mainstream Australia. Through the actions of the Rudd Labor government in its first days of office, we saw a very positive response to the views that were foremost in the minds of electors during the last election.

We saw the Rudd Labor government ratify the Kyoto protocol which, quite frankly, brought Australia back to the international bargaining table on climate change. We have had 11 years where that has just not occurred. We have seen a government that has taken all care and no responsibility when it comes to climate change. On the first opportunity that this government had, it did what it always said it would do—that is, it ratified the Kyoto protocol.

It is time that we started taking responsibility not just for the problem but for actually developing solutions. Being involved in tackling climate change should not simply be the province of doom and gloom. It should be the province of our best minds, working collaboratively together with the support of government, to do something responsible to address the issue of climate change and the level of impact that mankind has on a deteriorating environment. These are things that we do need to apply ourselves to. It is not just Australia—I have always acknowledged that—but for us to be in a position to influence the views and actions of others does mean that, as with any other set of negotiations, we must be at the table, and that is somewhere we have not been when it comes to something so fundamental to people as climate change. As someone who has spent a lot of time prior to coming to this place working in the renewable energy sector, I know the opportunities that currently exist out there, but I can only imagine what those opportunities are going to be like into the future. This is where we do need to commit funds as a form of incentive to commercialise innovation to develop the responses to climate change. This will be the hallmark of this government when it comes to developing responses to and taking leadership in climate change.

Another matter I would like to briefly touch upon is the importance of high-quality investment in our people. As important as it is to invest in our roads, our infrastructure, our high-speed broadband services and the tackling of climate change, the investment we put into our people now and into the future is going to be just as important. That is why I support the Rudd Labor government’s commitment to high-quality education. It has been reported for years that there are problems with a tight labour market and a skills shortage has emerged—mainly the product of a lack of investment in skills development. Madam Deputy Speaker, can I suggest to you that skills training through local high schools, investment in computers in our schools so that kids between years 9 and 12 all have access to computers and computer generated learning and the view of Australia’s national innovation system all point to a future where Australians will not need to choose to compete on a race for the bottom in wages and comparable conditions but can aspire to benefit from the skills and the abilities of this nation’s primary resource—that is, its people. Our ability to compete in future is going to be directly related to the ability of this nation to harness the potential of its own people. It largely rests with us to generate those ideas and also to provide the infrastructure necessary to develop the youth of this country to secure the future of Australia.

In conclusion, I am no longer troubled about the prospects of future generations in this country. After more than a decade of squandered opportunities under the Howard government, I look forward to the coming years of this government. I look forward to a government that actually does focus on developing an education revolution; a government that does focus on developing high-speed internet broadband so people can benefit, whether they be students or in industry; a government that will put the resources into developing national road and rail infrastructure to assist the development and the efficiency of our ports and our communication generally; and a government that will meet its challenges in respect of climate change. (Time expired)

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