Tim Wilson (Goldstein, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

It's a privilege to be able to speak on this motion, which is on one of the most significant challenges that we face not just as a country but as a global community. The challenges of climate change are an existential threat to the health and viability of people and of the planet overall. But it is important to make sure that we focus on what it is we can do in making sure that we confront that challenge.

There is no community that is unaffected—even the federal electorate of Goldstein. Even though we are only 55 square kilometres in the metropolitan part of Melbourne, we face every day the challenges of the impact of sea levels and what those do to coastal erosion and the importance of our viable and most beautiful Port Phillip. We have challenges, like many communities do, around the urban heat island effect and the importance of developing and investing in urban canopy to make our community more resilient against the challenges of a changing climate and what that means for water management. We see that locally in the efforts being made by councils in areas from waste reduction through to the investment in our local flora, fauna and parkland.

And, of course, this is of utmost importance as an issue that reminds us of the importance of acting purposefully and with focus. The Prime Minister has said today, rightly, in the context of COVID-19, that there is no solution that is based on Australia just protecting itself and then not taking concern for other countries and what they do, both in aid and supporting them but also in asking them to accept their responsibility too. Australia must accept our responsibility; responsibility belongs at home. The principle of stewardship starts by people taking responsibility. It happens in terms of people taking responsibility for getting themselves vaccinated and their community getting vaccinated, when it comes to COVID-19, and also in cutting greenhouse gas emissions in the context of Australia as well as other countries who seek to do so. We should encourage them to do so.

But, as responsible legislators, we have to make choices. We have to make choices understanding the urgency and the challenges that we face, and make sure that we have a plan that has integrity. We often get told, 'We just want Australia to commit to net zero.' The fact of the matter is that, under the Abbott government, we committed to net zero in the second half of this century. That was done in the Abbott government. What we are seeking to do as a government—and what we should do—is develop a plan with integrity to deliver that.

I talk to constituents regularly about this important issue. Periodically I hold listening posts, as many members no doubt do throughout their communities. I held one in Highett a few months ago. A young woman came to talk to me about the importance of climate change and the impacts she saw for herself and for her family. Once we got through the issues that she wanted to raise, I said, 'Okay, what is it that you're looking to do about it?' She had very strong opinions on what the government was doing—and we're doing a lot; I'll get to that. I asked her what she wanted, and her solution was a carbon tax—just like Labor and the Greens introduced when they were in coalition previously. I made it clear that one of the most important things to drive climate change policy is to make sure that it's sustainable policy—that it not be introduced on the basis of a lie and that it not be done against the will of the Australia people.

What we as a government are seeking to do is drive reform that takes the Australian people with us. That's so the next generation of Australians don't see climate change just as a threat but as an opportunity where we get to build the future of this country and to build a sustainable economic future for this country. That's why the focus is squarely on what we can do around technological development and deployment to build the future of Australia. That's so we're not driving an agenda—as Labor, the Greens and other political parties may want to do—which is a trade-off between the economy and the environment. It's about how we can use the economy and the environment to enhance and build potential for the future of Australia.

That's why the technology road map has been so critically important. What it focuses on is what we can actually do to cut emissions and create jobs—where we can invest resources to build job opportunities for the future of Australia while also cutting our greenhouse gas emissions. One of the best things about it is that we're focused on a technology-neutral way so that we can harness the power of science and technology to build that future. Whether it's investment in hydrogen or, of course, in hydroelectric power, solar PV cells, battery technology or technology that's still experimental and still needs time to mature, we are prepared to back it every step of the way, because that is how you deliver sustainable policy and that is how you take the Australian people with you.

See this speech in context