Luke Howarth (Petrie, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Youth and Employment Services) Share this | Hansard source

The Australian government's plan is driven by technology, and it's working extremely well. As we heard the Prime Minister say in question time today, emissions are down, at their lowest level ever, and at the same time jobs are up—in the middle of a pandemic. I really trust the Prime Minister to deliver on that. I certainly don't trust the shadow ministers or the Leader of the Opposition to deliver anything like that—not a hope in the world. I know that Australians can trust the Morrison government to get the plan right, to transition with the world to renewable energy and at the same time to maintain jobs. Do you know why I know that? Because the facts support the government. Australia's emissions are down to nearly 21 percent below 2005 levels. Emissions are 21 per cent lower than they were 16 years ago, when the population was lower. Not only that: emissions are lower than they were when emissions were first recorded, back in 1990—31 years ago. We are one of a handful of countries to beat our Kyoto-era commitments. So, the opposition can talk all they want, but the people who are listening to this broadcast can know that the facts are on the Morrison government's side.

I regularly hear the perspective of Australia's young people, as Assistant Minister for Youth and Employment Services, and what young people want is for Australians to tackle these complex challenges together. They don't want to live in fear or to engage in polarising or divisive debate. Just yesterday I met with an impressive group of young Australians who represent Australia across the G20 countries, known as the Y20 youth leaders. They want inclusive action, sustainable action, education and innovation. They made some impressive recommendations, including a 10 per cent increase in current innovation spending by all G20 countries and support for community based green energy and smart microgrid networks—which those opposite, the Labor Party, all voted against recently and, as we heard from the minister today, they continue to vote against microgrids, continue to vote against small EV chargers and continue to vote against hydrogen with the government bill, which the member for McMahon, sitting right here opposite me, leads his party in voting against. Those opposite know it's the right thing to do. It's the right thing to do for local people. You should talk to this shadow minister and get him to sign up.

Around 30 per cent of young Australians who were surveyed feel that using renewable energy and favouring renewable energy providers are the most important individual behaviours to combat climate change, followed by reducing consumption of disposable goods. But what we get from those opposite and also what we get from the Greens and some of the Independents in this House is fearmongering. The member for Indi said on 9 August, in relation to youth, that we are handing over to them a world that is burning. First of all, that's just plain wrong. Second, it's alarmist. And third, it affects young people's mental health. The member for Mayo, who is sitting in the chamber, said yesterday that we are last in the world in relation to solar. Firstly, that is plain wrong. It is alarmist, and it affects people's mental health. In Petrie we have one of the highest uptakes of solar in the country. In fact, one in three houses in Petrie have solar, and I thank the members for neighbouring electorates for what they are doing in installing solar. So, some of those Independents have been hanging around the Greens for too long, and we're not having it. The member for Warringah—I won't even start, there. But I'd love it if just once the Independent members would maybe support the government, or maybe even do a three-minute speech on some of the good things that we're doing around climate, to help our young people understand.

But let me tell those young people who are listening what this government, the Morrison government, is doing. We beat our 2020 target by 459 million tonnes. Emissions are now at the lowest level in the 31 years since records began. And between 2005 and 2019 emissions in Australia fell faster than in Canada, New Zealand, Japan, the United States and the OECD average.

Thank you, member for Mallee. In 2020, a record 7,000 megawatts of renewables were installed in Australia. That's more than the entire six years of the Rudd and Gillard governments combined. That was done in one year. So there was more done in one year under the Morrison government than was done in six years of Labor. To the young people of Australia: the Morrison government is the right government. We will make sure that you are not taxed more and we will make the change that is needed.

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