Lisa Chesters (Bendigo, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

If you're someone working in the resources or energy sectors, you would have been incredibly disappointed with the contribution that just came from your own minister. It completely misunderstood the purpose of this MPI, which is to address the fact that the government has failed on energy policy and failed to protect Australian jobs and industry.

Lots of people on this side have been to coalmines and spoken to coalworkers. I'm one of them. They've raised issues with us that this government has failed to address in their industry. They have huge safety issues, which the minister who just addressed the House has not addressed. They have huge workplace issues. What they say to me when I speak to them is that they want a minister to sit down and be honest about what's happening in their industry—not the spin, not the rhetoric, not the protection of the big multinationals. Be honest about it. They want to know what's going on in trade negotiations. Let's hear from the government the honesty about what's happening with coal. How many ships are now stuck off the coast of China because they haven't resolved that dispute? What knock-on effect will that have on Australian industry and Australian jobs?

This government has failed. Any achievement that we have actually made in this area around reducing emissions and getting on top of the energy crisis is due to the work of the former federal Labor government, as people on this side have outlined, and the work of current state Labor governments, which have committed to renewable energy targets and committed to net zero emissions by 2050. We are not alone. The government seems to think it's a really radical idea to commit to net zero emissions by 2050, but the National Farmers Federation stands with us, the Australian Industry Group stands with us—multiple businesses and organisations stand with Labor on this. And it's not just because it is about improving our position when it comes to carbon emissions. It's not just about the opportunity for jobs and industry in Australia. It's because the rest of the world is going that way, and if we do not act soon we'll be hit with climate tariffs. They are coming. There's a reason why we don't have free trade agreements or multilateral agreements yet with the EU and the UK. The rest of the world is going that way, yet we have a government whose heads are so far in the sand—or the 1950s—that they can't see that their inaction will cost jobs.

The government's failure is costing us jobs in agriculture. You talk to farmers, whether they're involved in the Climate Action Network or the Farmers Federation. The impact that global warming is having on crops and the impact that the inaction on climate change is having on agriculture cannot be underestimated. Whether it be our wine and wine production industry or our fruit-growing industry, farmers are struggling to understand the science required to keep up with the changing climate around them, and they are desperately calling out. They see a positive role that agriculture can play in a world where we are moving towards net zero emissions by 2050.

I've mentioned trade. So many jobs are on the line because we are not meeting our commitments, our targets. Then there's manufacturing, which the government like to pretend they are on the side of. I've lost count of the number of manufacturers that I spoken to who want a decent energy policy. Not 22 in six years, but a decent energy policy that delivers low energy costs, green energy costs. I have manufacturers in central Victoria saying, 'We will help build the solar farm near our manufacturing facilities if we can get support from the federal government to do so.' Our industries want to go greener. They get that it's good for business. They get that it's good for the environment. It also secures their energy going forward.

It's also going to have a huge impact on tourism and hospitality jobs. Those opposite make a joke about it—'Nobody wants to sit outside on a 40-degree day'. Talk to the business owners who can't set up their outdoor dining on a 40- to 45-degree day. The impact global warming is having on hospitality and tourism cannot be underestimated. The government think it's a joke. They think the more that people raise this issue and link it back to jobs, the less they're being serious. We need a government that is serious about energy and energy policy that will protect and secure jobs going forward, not be laughed at and joked about.

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