Julian Simmonds (Ryan, Liberal National Party) Share this | Hansard source

This is such an incredibly important issue, and it's just such a shame, frankly, that what we have consistently seen from the Greens is media stunts, panic rhetoric and posturing. The Greens are the party of protest over policy and the party of disruption over real debate. The Greens are the party that will unapologetically herald protesters who break the law, shut down our economy and prevent you from getting to work and to your families. The Greens are the party that will bully small business with baseless boycotts that hurt Australian families. The Greens are a total sham. They are the political equivalent of a con.

The government, however, is absolutely committed to taking action on climate change, but it will do it in a way that does not take a wrecking ball to our economy. Action will be despite the Greens, not because of them. The Morrison government is committed to reducing Australia's emissions as per our climate policy and our global targets while ensuring that both the Australian people and the Australian economy benefit. We will reduce emissions while we maintain our strong economy, and we will do it through technology, not taxes.

A division having been called in the House of Representatives—

Sitting suspended from 18:11 to 18:21

The Greens like to make comparisons when it comes to Australia and the rest of the world, so let's do that now here in this chamber. Australia is a world leader when it comes to renewables. In 2019, Australia's investment per capita in renewable energy was greater than that of the United States of America, Japan and the UK, and more than triple the per capita investment of Germany, China, France and Denmark. We are committed to practical change driven by science and technology and we are doing some great work in this space.

I particularly want to commend my electorate of Ryan, which is home to the Pullenvale CSIRO facility in Brisbane and has been at the forefront of developing the technology needed to make hydrogen power a reality for Australia. Hydrogen represents a low-carbon—in some cases no-carbon—renewable power source with the capacity to power homes, businesses and heavy vehicles more efficiently than other renewable energy sources. By growing a strong domestic hydrogen industry, Australia will be able to see the practical benefits of hydrogen at home with cheaper power bills and improved power reliability. By growing our export pipeline—something we are also working on at the CSIRO facility in Ryan—we can help other nations reduce their emissions globally as well.

Hydrogen has the potential to benefit Australian businesses across sectors as diverse as transport, agriculture and electricity generation. That is just one example. We have already invested $8.9 billion in more than 670 projects, including a charging infrastructure for electric vehicles, large-scale solar and the world's largest battery, in South Australia. We have a $2 billion climate solutions fund that supports practical projects, like capturing methane from landfill and storing carbon. Instead of making placards, like the Greens do, we are making changes. We are reducing emissions.

Australia's emissions are lower than in 2013, when we came into government. Emissions per capita are at the lowest level in 29 years. They have been reduced by 41 per cent since 1990. We have set a 2030 target—the Paris target—and accounted for how that will be achieved, down to the last tonne. We have accounted for the cost of achieving that target. We have accounted for it to the Australian people; that is something that many other nations that have signed up to the Paris agreement and are lecturing us now won't be able to say.

This is a very important point, because in the last few days we've seen the exact opposite from Labor. We've had an announcement from the Labor Party—well, notwithstanding the rebel members who attended the Otis group dinner—that they will reach net zero emissions by 2050. How? That's a good question. That's what everyone else is asking as well. Nobody knows—not the Leader of the Opposition, not the media, not the Australian people. All the Leader of the Opposition can do, as some kind of meek assurance, is say that he will consult—whatever that means. We don't even know what on.

The Prime Minister has been very clear when it comes to this government's position on targets. We won't set new targets without being able to look Australians in the eye and tell them how much it will cost and how we will achieve it. We will meet and beat our Paris target— (Time expired)

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