Mr Tony Burke (Watson, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Capricornia for the question. This morning, as I was reading Stock and Landwhich I do now in the morning; I am a recent convert to Stock and Landon page 8 there was an article on some of the latest research coming out today from the CSIRO. The research, by the CSIRO’s Dr Mark Howden, outlines in pretty stark terms the potential of climate change for Australian agriculture. It goes through the risks and the opportunities to particular industries and through how farmers can adapt to the challenges of climate change.

I noticed from comments made this morning by the Leader of the Opposition that he does not think it is all that appropriate for the government to be talking about the risks, as though the risks and danger of climate change are purely some sort of sneaky government plot. If the Leader of the Opposition is looking for a sneaky plot, I suggest he just turn around, and he will find one directly behind him right now. The Leader of the Opposition apparently thinks it is some sort of sneaky plot to acknowledge research by leading scientific bodies, like the CRC for National Plant Biosecurity, that shows that sleeper pests and weeds that are not currently a problem could become one with warmer temperatures or that weeds, which metabolise CO2 faster, will have the upper hand in a CO2-rich environment. I presume the Leader of the Opposition thinks it is some sort of sneaky plot to listen to joint research by the CSIRO, the Bushfire CRC and the Bureau of Meteorology showing that the number of days of extreme fire danger experienced each year in Australia could increase by 65 per cent by 2020 and up to 300 per cent by 2050. Whenever a bushfire goes through, that is when fireweed and other weeds are the first to come back. But there is also good news in a report by the CSIRO released today. I will quote it, as I am sure honourable members have already read Stock and Land today:

The good news, Dr Howden said, is that Australian agriculture is already used to coping with adversity and climate risk; and that the nation has a strong underlying research base.

The bad news is that Australia has been politically slow to accept the threat of climate change, “putting us a decade behind where we could be.”

I quote: ‘a decade behind where we could be’. The CSIRO report found that, to protect against pests, diseases and weeds in a changing climate, we have to maintain and improve our quarantine capabilities. We have to improve the effectiveness of pest, disease and weed management practices. The report also found a range of specific actions which could be put forward to farmers so that they can be better informed when they make choices about what to do on their own land.

If all of this is a sneaky plot then we are colluding with some of the world’s best scientific minds. If the Leader of the Opposition is right, then this is a conspiracy which involves the CSIRO, the Bureau of Meteorology, the National Farmers Federation, all the state farming bodies and pretty much every government in the world. Everybody is in on it except him. And you know what? When you see a conspiracy everywhere you look, maybe you have got to wonder if you are the problem.

The government knows that Australian farmers can adapt to climate change if they are given access to the best information we can give them. Under no circumstances will we be telling farmers what to do. They make the choices as to what to do on their own land. But it is the Australian government’s responsibility to be clear about the risks, to be clear about the opportunities and to make clear to our farmers the best options to ensure a successful future in the face of climate change.

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