Joel Fitzgibbon (Hunter, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Agriculture and Resources) Share this | Hansard source

I'm going to resist responding to the provocation of the member for Hughes because I will run out of time, but I respect his contribution—I mean, the member for Hughes does show a keen interest in this important subject. But extreme views from the Right, just like extreme views from the Left, are our biggest challenge within this debate. We need a consensus on this important issue. That's why I rise to oppose the motion from the member for Clark, not because I disagree with everything he says in his motion—in fact, there are points on which we can absolutely agree—but I have no opportunity to amend the motion so therefore I am left with no choice but to oppose it.

We've been having these climate wars now for more than 20 years, and sadly I've been around for more than 20 years and have been involved in them. The only way we're going to front up to our responsibilities as a country is to work with the international community and to build a consensus here at home. We need to be realists, not idealists. I remind members of the House that 90 per cent of our country's energy still comes from fossil fuel sources, and of course I'm not just talking about the electricity generation sector, which usually focuses the minds of most people—that's what the member for Hughes spent most of his time talking about. I'm also talking about our planes and our cars and our trucks and our mining equipment and our tractors and other equipment on our farms. I'm talking about heating for our manufacturing plants. All of these things rely heavily on fossil fuels. There will be a time—sadly, I won't be around, neither in this place or else well—when we won't be so dependent on fossil fuels, but it is a long way down the track. We use coal to make steel, we use gas as feedstock, we use gas to keep us warm, we use gas to cook and, of course, we use gas to make PPE—a very topical product at this point in time.

We have had our industrial revolution. That is behind us, but many other countries around the world are still having theirs, and they can't come into modernity without the assistance of fossil fuels—many of which will come from our country. Adani builds a mine in Central Queensland. What for? To provide its industrial revolution in India. Should we deny them that? No. But what we should do is work as an international community to ensure that we address this very important challenge.

The climate is changing in adverse ways. Mankind is making a contribution. Mankind needs to do something about it. That's what the Paris Agreement is all about. We have signed the Paris Agreement, and Scott Morrison, our Prime Minister, should fulfil his obligations under Paris. But it is apparent to me that he is not on track to do so—and he needs to get on track to do so. He needs to stop listening to the extreme right, to stop listening to the extreme left, stop putting domestic votes in front of his responsibility as a Prime Minister and get on with it.

We know the Greens don't really want to address climate change. We saw that when they voted against Kevin Rudd's CPRS. We saw that when they Adani convoy through Central Queensland—because they wanted to whip up the debate, because that wins them votes. Where would the Greens party be without climate change? What would they campaign on? What would be their relevance? How would they raise funds if they didn't have climate change? They don't want to fix this problem. The centre of Australian politics has to fix this problem and sensible people in this place need to get together and do so.

There is a thing called the economy. We can walk and chew gum at the same time. The market is moving. It will move without government, but it needs the guiding hand of government. This government needs to embrace an energy policy so that business investors have a certain environment in which to invest. That's what we need to doing. These silly climate wars are making that difficult. As reluctant as I am to say it, the motion from the member for Clark isn't helpful. I'm sure it will win him a few votes in Hobart, but it won't save jobs in Central Queensland and it won't lead to any real and meaningful action on climate change.

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