Josh Burns (Macnamara, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I think about the activists across Macnamara who, for not just this election but for years, have raised their voices in support of climate action, people who have turned up to community forums and who have engaged in community groups. The minister for health is at the table. In his former capacity as shadow minister for climate change, he joined me at the St Kilda RSL a few years ago and spoke to literally hundreds of concerned people about climate change and what can be done. At that time, at that meeting, there was a deep sense of frustration at the coalition's inaction on climate change. But today we have a chance, and as part of the Climate Change Bill 2022 we have an opportunity, to make change and to take a momentous step forward, and of that I am very, very proud. The responsibility that the people of Macnamara have given me in asking me to represent them in this place is something I hear unequivocally, and I take extremely seriously the request that the people of Macnamara have given me: to say that we need to tackle climate change and we must be part of the solution.

I acknowledge organisations like the Port Phillip EcoCentre, who have been tireless in their engagement of our citizens in citizen science and in protecting our local wildlife in a number of our nature reserves, from Westgate Park—underneath the iconic West Gate Bridge—all the way down to our brand new nature reserve, the opening of which is going to happen this week, where we're going to be seeing an incredible dedication of urban land back to the environment. It's going to be a celebration of local indigenous wildlife and plants. The Port Phillip EcoCentre is at the very heart of that, as well as the Elsternwick Park Association.

We have PECAN, which is the peak body of many of our climate activist groups locally, who do an outstanding job. They held a climate debate at the last election, which I was proud to be a participant in. The Australian Conservation Foundation has been constantly engaging with me, and I appreciate all of their engagement. I especially appreciate the Macnamara chapter of the Australian Conservation Foundation, whose activists are tireless in their pursuit of better climate action. I also acknowledge the Australian Youth Climate Coalition and, of course, the Labor activists in LEAN—the Labor Environment Action Network—who have, at every single stage, kept the North Star in the front of their minds and focused on how to get action and how to be a part of a parliament that takes action on climate change. And that's what this bill is.

This bill is the product of a significant amount of work that the minister did in opposition, where we put forward our policies, like having over 80 solar banks around the country and 400 community batteries, including at Southbank in my electorate, where we have a huge number of people living in apartments who can't access solar panels on their roofs but want to access cheap, clean, renewable energy. Our community batteries program is one of the really exciting things that we're going to roll out around the country. Then there are our electric vehicle policies, our policies to support agriculture and, of course, the safeguard mechanisms. That was all then modelled, and as part of that model we have seen that it will cost the amount that will be budgeted in the October budget, as well as all the funding that's required as part of the RepuTex modelling. We are going to achieve at least 43 per cent emission reductions by 2030 as a result of those policies.

It's all there on the website for people to see. I know that the coalition have been sceptical and say that there are no details. That's clearly because they haven't read the document, which is available on the website for any Australian to go and see—the Powering Australia policy. That, thankfully, is now the policy of the Australian government. It is also the policy that's supported by a whole range of stakeholder groups, including the Business Council of Australia, the Australian Industry Group, the Australian Council of Trade Unions, the Australian Conservation Foundation, the Australian Energy Council, the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Smart Energy Council and the Clean Energy Council.

Literally across the economy and across the country, Australians are united in tackling climate change, not just because they're bleeding-heart lefties—as I know many on that side of the House like to bandy around—but because it is good for our economy. Climate action is one of the single most important economic stimulus things that we can do for our next generation. Tackling climate change is literally going to create hundreds of thousands of jobs in the Australian economy. It's going to help power businesses via cheaper energy. Our climate action is going to be the thing that powers Australia into the future. We have a desert the size of the Sahara and an offshore wind abundance that is perhaps bigger than that of any other country in the world. Our potential is limitless.

You only have to look at what's going on in the Northern Territory right now, where we have a $20 billion investment being made in the Northern Territory as a part of the Sun Cable project to start exporting solar energy to Singapore, potentially powering up to 15 per cent of Singapore's energy needs. That's just the first time that we're exporting solar energy, the first time that Australia can potentially export renewable energy.

It's exciting, and it's jobs—jobs in our regions. I know that there are people on the other side of the House who are afraid of what change might mean, and there are communities that are protective of their own jobs. Of course, that's fine. Of course we support workers in this country. Of course we support workers in the Hunter Valley. Of course we support workers in Queensland. They have literally powered our country, but if we want to think about what is going to be there for the next generation and what sort of jobs we want to create for future generations, what prosperity we want to ensure future generations of Australians to have, it is going to be in these incredible new industries.

We have got our targets, which are designed by policies and have been modelled by RepuTex, and we are going to legislate them. That is the clearest way to settle on an energy policy, something that those opposite couldn't do, despite 22 cracks at it. We had the NEG, we had Malcolm Turnbull—remember that guy? He lost his job over their energy policies. But we are going to legislate it and it's going to pass both houses of the parliament, something that our economy has been crying out for.

As part of this legislation, we are also going to enshrine that legislation, our pathway towards a net zero, in the essential government agencies like the Australian Renewable Energy Agency, like the Clean Energy Finance Corporation, and like the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility, so that they take into account government policy, which is to lower emissions to bring our country towards net zero. It is a pretty simple proposition. We will not take the clean energy bit out of the Clean Energy Finance Corporation. We're not going to take the renewables out of the Australian Renewable Energy Agency. We're going to ensure that those agencies and other government agencies are focused on lowering our emissions and achieving Australia's climate change targets.

The other thing that this bill does is ensure that we reinvest in the Climate Change Authority and that it has all of the resources that it needs to provide frank and fearless advice to the government. The minister will then be required to come into this place and be transparently accountable for Australia's progress in achieving our climate action.

I remember the dark old days of the Morrison government when they completely gutted the Climate Change Authority. There was no accountability. At the dispatch box the minister would pretend that everything was hunky-dory when it clearly wasn't. And the Australian people knew that it wasn't. That's why we're going to create and support the institutions that guarantee Australia does this and does it properly. This is good reform. It is sensible reform. It is reform that the Australian people demanded. It is reform I am really proud of. It is reform that we can all be proud of: that we stood in this place and took a gigantic step forward on climate action. Australians said, 'We want to end the climate wars,' and they're over. Instead of bickering and denial and complete obfuscation, we have a bill—a bill in this place that says Australia is on a pathway towards net zero, and that is the law of this nation. That is something that I am extremely proud to be a part of.

I want to take this opportunity to acknowledge, obviously, the Prime Minister, but also the Minister for Climate Change and Energy, who has negotiated in good faith with all members of this place except those who dealt themselves out of the conversation. I acknowledge that there are members who are a part of the coalition who would like to still be in this place, and members of the coalition party room now, who wanted to support this bill.

I say to anyone in this place—and I congratulate the crossbench and any other members who will be supporting this—that this is the right side of history. When Australians look back at this moment and this place to see who was willing to support Australia taking a step forward on climate action and who was willing to deny it, I know where I'm going to be. I know where people on this side of the House are going to be. We're going to be on the right side of history. We are going to tackle this and we're going to take a momentous step forward in our efforts to tackle climate change.

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