Chris Bowen (McMahon, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Climate Change and Energy) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That the amendments be agreed to.

Our parliament and our country have seen too many bad days on climate change. Today is a good day for our parliament and country, and we're going to need many more of them. Today is one step, but it's a big step. It will give this country a sensible climate change policy, and will give this country a climate change policy which sends the message to the world that we are open for business for renewable energy, for transmission and for storage.

This is a good day for our climate. It's a good day for future generations. It's a good day for workers in Australia's regions, because that message that we send to the rest of the world—that we are open for business—is a message that investment should come to the regions which have powered Australia for so long and will power Australia under clean, renewable energy. They are regions that will create so much energy that it can be exported to the rest of the world, and we can be a renewable energy powerhouse. That's what this message from the Senate does. That's what this bill does—this bill that will become an act as a result of this House's actions and the actions of the other House.

We have left it too late as a country. We are starting today to achieve an emissions reduction goal for 2030, which is 87 months away. That is not long. Therefore, we have not a second to waste. That's why I say this parliament and this country need to see many more good days for climate as we ensure we're reducing emissions in electricity generation, in transport, in industry and in agriculture. That's the process we begin today. But the first step is to send the framework, the message and the signal to the world that we're ready, and that's what we're doing.

I thank the House. I thank the members of the government for their steadfast support, not just today and not through just this bill, but from 2 December last year, when the now Prime Minister and I released the Powering Australia policy. It was a controversial thing to do. More than one political party has lost an election on such issues. I thank the members of the government for their steadfast faith and support through all those months.

I thank the crossbench for their support, working in good faith with the government, improving the bill and making suggestions that the government was more than happy to accept in this House and in the other house. That's how a good parliament works. That's how a government of grown-ups work. That's what a sensible process does. So I thank those members of good faith in both houses who voted to make this bill a law.

I want to thank the key officials in the Department of Climate Change, Energy, Environment and Water: Deputy Secretary Jo Evans, Kath Rowley and the entire team—finer public servants you would not meet. I want to thank them for their very important contribution to this bill. I want to thank Andrew Garrett and Peter Nicholas, from my office, for all their work in making this bill a reality.

Again, I thank the House. This is an important day. It is one step but it is a very important step. In the world of climate change action, Australia is back! In the world of sensible climate change policy, Australia is back! In the world of investment in the clean energy of the future, Australia is back! The message goes out from this House today to the world: 10 years of denial is over; 10 years of delay is over; 10 years of dysfunction is over; 10 years of division is over—and today the real work begins.

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