Tony Zappia (Makin, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Manufacturing) Share this | Hansard source

I present two petitions. The first, signed by 39 petitioners, calls for a humane and compassionate treatment of refugees held in detention on Manus Island and Nauru. Now into its fifth year in office, the Turnbull government has failed to resettle those refugees and it is clear that the government has no ability to do so. The indefinite detention is unjust and contributes nothing towards stopping the boats.

The second petition is about climate change and calls on the government to commit: firstly, to ensure deeper and more urgent reductions of greenhouse gas emissions; secondly, to ensure Australia achieves zero net emissions by the year 2050; thirdly, to transition towards renewable energy and more sustainable land use; and, fourthly, to assist our poorest neighbours so that they can adapt to climate change.

Since my election to parliament a decade ago, I have frequently spoken about climate change. As each year passes, the evidence that climate change is real grows stronger. In summary: temperatures are rising; 2016 was the hottest year on record; sea levels are rising; extreme weather events are all too frequent; CO2 levels now exceed 400 parts per million; and ocean acidity is affecting sea life. These are measurable changes, and the statistics over the past 100 years should be of concern to all humanity.

Climate change presents a very real challenge to the economic, social and environmental future of our world. Every year that action is delayed makes the need for action more urgent and more difficult. Every year that action is delayed simply means that this generation is making future generations pay for our comforts and our refusal to make greater sacrifices. A 26 to 28 per cent reduction in 2005 emissions by 2030 is simply insufficient. And we should strive for much higher clean energy targets. Indeed, if we don't we are unlikely even to meet our requirements under the international agreements that we are now a party to.

It concerns me that I see from this government a move away from the recognition of climate change as a real threat to humanity's existence. It concerns me that this government is not prepared to act. After almost five years of this government being in office, we as a nation, if anything, appear to be going backwards with respect to our commitments. I believe that by not committing we are not only passing the costs on to future generations but making the costs for future generations even greater than they would be for us today.

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