Jim Turnour (Leichhardt, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

It is mood lighting; that is correct! This has been a very long drought, and there are still 84 areas declared as under exceptional circumstances. Twenty-seven of these have been in continuous declaration for longer than six years.

When I look at maps of the different states in Australia I can see very large areas of Australia that are still declared as under exceptional circumstances. I recognise, as the member for New England has said tonight, that there has been rain falling across the country in places that have not seen it for a long time. The rain in south-east Queensland was great, and dams there have risen to around 40 per cent—that is great news. (Quorum formed) With the lights in the chamber down, I was going to go on and talk about climate change because I think it is a very apt time to talk about it, particularly in terms of talking about drought.

I made the point that there are 84 areas declared as under exceptional circumstances in Australia and 27 of them have been declared for longer than six years. There is no doubt that this drought has been longer and more devastating than many droughts in the past, if not ever. There can be no doubt that climate change has been part of the impact that has brought on this drought. The Australian government’s Bureau of Meteorology statement on its website entitled ‘Long and short-term rainfall deficiencies persist’ says:

The combination of record heat and widespread drought during the past five to ten years over large parts of southern and eastern Australia is without historical precedent and is, at least partly, a result of climate change.

The Bureau of Meteorology is in agreement that climate change has been a major cause of this drought, if not a significant reason that farmers and rural businesses out there are doing it tough. Therefore, it is very important that, although I rise to support this bill tonight and provide support for farmers and small businesses out there in rural Australia, working families doing it tough, we have another look at drought policy. I was pleased that the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry earlier this year announced that the government will be undertaking a comprehensive review of drought policy.

The climate is changing not only in Australia but around the world, and drought is all about the fact that we are not getting enough rain in large parts of Australia. It is extremely important to have another look at the drought policy going forward to make sure that it is providing the support that is needed to rural and regional Australia. I heard the contribution from the member for New England, and I have seen him back in the chamber today talking about zero-till farming and the changes in farming practices that we have seen over the last 10 to 20 years. I support his comments in relation to the need to get more information, more research and more data. There are people out there doing good work in this area in looking at how much carbon is being stored in soils and making sure that is something we can look at in the years ahead as part of any trading scheme. That is certainly something that I have looked to support and to make sure we are getting the right information into the system in relation to, because climate change is real. It is happening.

I know there are some members opposite who are still sceptical about that, but it has been a major reason that we have had an extended period of drought. It is very important that we as the government not only support farmers and small businesses in rural and regional Australia but actually take action to ensure that we are tackling climate change and providing farmers with the support to manage and deal with it into the future. I commend this bill to the House. I strongly support it. Coming from a farming and a rural background, I understand how hard people are doing it out there, how tough it is for working families out in regional Australia. I am proud to be part of the Rudd government that continues the tradition of Labor governments supporting rural and regional Australia.

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