Allegra Spender (Wentworth, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

Let me begin by saying that I am so pleased that the first piece of legislation I will be debating is the Climate Change Bill 2022. This is an issue which is vitally important to me and to the people of Wentworth. Climate change matters to Wentworth. We care about it because of the impact that it has around the world and in Australia. Who can forget the devastating images of people wading into the ocean as their homes burned or climbing onto their roofs as rivers swallowed their houses?

But climate change also affects Wentworth. We already see it. We saw it in the east coast lows in 2016, when millions of dollars of damage was done to our coastal infrastructure. We saw it again this year, when our iconic beaches were again inundated by enormous waves. Extreme weather events will only get more prevalent under climate change, and Australia is the OECD country most vulnerable to it. We know that we will see much more of that in the future. Our community will be hotter and drier, with the number of days over 30 degrees doubling by 2050. And we'll see the other impacts that it will have across our community and our world. That is the future for Wentworth, for Australia and for all of us unless we decide to act today and join in collective action across the world.

We all have a responsibility to recognise what our actions are doing to harm ourselves, others and most importantly—and I say this, seeing the students up there above in the gallery—to future generations. This is why I'm supporting this bill. It is because of you guys sitting up there. We have an opportunity. Acting responsibly on climate isn't just about bearing a financial burden. It's about realising the financial opportunity that comes from changing how we act and how our economy operates and from embracing innovation.

Australia is, once again, truly the lucky country. Australia is one of the sunniest and windiest places on earth. A solar panel here creates two to three times more electricity than it does in Europe or Japan. We have lithium, uranium, nickel and many other vital minerals and resources that are vital for a decarbonised future. Australia is facing tremendous opportunity, one unlike any other and one that we must embrace. I'm pleased to say that Wentworth businesses are already starting to embrace this, like MicroTau, who's founder lives in Wentworth, who has created contact film that goes across planes and on ships to reduce drag, reduce fuel consumption and reduce emissions.

Let's come to the core of this bill. The core of this bill is that it sets out a target for Australia to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions and formalises the government's and the parliament's commitment to acting on climate change. This commitment is welcome and is long overdue. The previous target of 26 to 28 per cent by 2030 was manifestly inadequate, and as an aspirational target it was completely ineffective in dealing with climate change and ineffective in providing certainty or a framework for business investment in decarbonisation. That's absolutely crucial, and that's crucial to Wentworth. Businesses will be at the forefront of this change, but they need to believe that the parliament and the people are behind those changes in order to make millions and billions of dollars worth of investment, and I believe that this bill provides that. It was also ineffective, as the election demonstrated so clearly, in effectively delivering on the community's expectation.

The community's expectations have been clear for years, at least since the 2007 election, when both parties promised action on climate change. But most of the last 15 years have been squandered, with responsibility for action left to state governments and local communities, who have embraced the potential of renewable energy. The enthusiasm and action of local communities has been truly inspiring—and in Wentworth, absolutely, too—but Australia could have gone so much further and so much faster with federal leadership. Instead we have wasted years and literally billions of dollars due to inaction. So I welcome this government's commitment to action, but I want to be clear: this bill does not go far enough.

This bill does four main things. It sets a 43 per cent reduction target by 2030 and net zero by 2050, it requires the minister to table an annual climate change statement, it requires the Climate Change Authority to provide the minister with advice and it requires independent reviews of the act. I don't have any objection to the bill in principle, but I wish the government had gone further. In particular I believe that the target is inadequate. A 43 per cent reduction is simply not sufficient. It is not supported by climate scientists, who state that the world needs at least 50 per cent reduction by 2030 to have a strong chance to keep warming below two per cent and ideally 1.5; it is not supported by business groups, such as the Business Council of Australia, who have identified that Australian businesses can thrive under more ambition—Australian businesses can thrive under a 46 to 50 per cent reduction by 2030; and it is not supported by the community, certainly not the community of Wentworth. A 43 per cent reduction is a political compromise when we need political courage.

The government has acted in good faith in negotiations on this bill. I commend the government for that, and I will take them on good faith that the 43 per cent target is a floor to our collective ambition. The target is not enough, but what is most crucial is the policy and action underpinning the target to ensure that we exceed the target, that we deliver at least 50 per cent reduction by 2030. That work will come. I intend to be part of that work, to be a constructive voice that will at times push the government to go further and go harder than they might otherwise go—to provide that political courage. I will work constructively with the government on risk assessments and mitigation strategies. We can't continue to spend 97c in every dollar of disaster relief focused on cleaning up the mess and only three per cent on the vital actions that are required by mitigation and adaptation. I will work with the government on transport emissions. We have the opportunity to bring in fuel efficiency standards that will not cost the public purse at a time when we have so much debt but will unlock low-carbon and electric vehicle choices for Australians. I will be a voice that draws on my experience, the experience of my constituents, the passion of my constituents and the experience of many experts around the country to ensure we are implementing policies that stimulate innovation and investment, that support our economy and that deliver the change we need.

There are two other changes that I would like the government and the House to consider. The bill as drafted would require the minister to make annual statements to the Australian parliament about Australia's progress in reducing emissions, relevant international developments, the government's climate change policies and the effectiveness of the government's climate change policies. My first change would require that the statement consider the sectoral impact of policies. It is important that Australians and Australian businesses can see what progress is being made by each sector of the community and that each sector of the community understands what its responsibilities are. I hope that this will be the foundation for the government to develop these sector-specific plans, setting out targets and measures that would provide certainty for business, investors and other stakeholders.

My second change would require the statement to consider the effectiveness of government policies in general, rather than just climate policy specifically. This is a subtle change but an important one. It will allow the minister with advice from the Climate Change Authority to consider the impact of government policies which might be making emission reduction targets more difficult, such as subsidies for fossil fuel industries. Transparency is vital in this parliament and this transparency will help inform the public debate and allow voters to take an informed view of the full cost of the government policies in relation to climate action. I believe these changes are reasonable and sensible and will help us make progress towards our emission reductions. I hope the government and others in this place will seriously consider supporting them.

Finally, I would like to talk about the consultation process for this bill and thank the minister and the rest of the crossbench for their engagement. Again, I think of the students up here watching us. I think that they are looking for a parliament that comes together and collaborates on one of the most important issues of the day, so I am really pleased and delighted that this is an example where the government has acted in good faith and worked effectively across the parliament. Through this collaboration, we have the acknowledgement in the bill that the target is a floor, not a ceiling, for our action. We have linked the bill back to the science of climate change, which is absolutely crucial. We have strengthened the accountability that the minister must show parliament and we have ensured this bill will be reviewed periodically. I hope we will see much more of that collaboration in this 47th Parliament and set a high bar for this country and for future parliaments.

In conclusion, I will be supporting this bill. It is an important first step, the first real step in far too long, but it is not enough. We need more action. We need risk mitigation strategies. We need adaptation plans. We need greater action on electric vehicles. We need to stop putting public money into fossil fuel subsidies and thoughtlessly expanding the number of gas and coal mines without paying heed to the impact on the world. We need to move to the future, not to the past, and bring our communities with us, all those communities around Australia, however they are impacted by this bill. We need strong accountability mechanisms to ensure the government is adopting the right policies, and to ensure those policies are comprehensive and effective and are accountable to the people of this parliament and to the people of this country. I, for one, will be holding the government to account and ensuring that they take the next step and the one after until our country is finally in the place it needs to be.

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