Graham Perrett (Moreton, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I know—like everyone in the chamber who has come to hear my speech!—we're very pleased to hear the former government speak about the ozone protection and synthetic greenhouse gas bills 2022. I had been intending to say something positive about the member for Fairfax! On a day of division, when it comes to legislation about protecting the world's ozone layer, it is a bipartisan story. When it comes to human survival, it's great to see humans—animals that evolved in intelligence in the Darwinian struggle to survive in the jungle—actually come together and use our intelligence for the good of humanity. More importantly, the story of ozone is a story of hope. When it comes to the battles humanity has to go through to save and protect our environment, this is a battle that we have to win.

The first time I remember hearing about the environment and that human beings could be responsible for damaging the world we live in was back in the 1980s—when I had much longer hair! At that time, scientists discovered there was a hole in the ozone layer. I had no idea, in high school, what the ozone layer was, but apparently the Brut deodorant I was using was contributing to making a hole in the ozone layer, and, if I didn't stop using Brut, the hole in the ozone layer was going to get bigger. But, like all teenage boys, I certainly needed to keep using Brut! I'm sure any teacher would know that. The member for Lalor, as a former principal, would know that grade 9 boys need a lot of Brut deodorant. But having two teenage boys at home right now, I can attest, with all respect to my children, who I hope are not listening to this, that the need for teenage boys to wear deodorant has not dissipated.

Nevertheless, I go back to the hole in the ozone layer. The ozone hole would cause the sun to burn our skin more, and it would damage our crops and all life on our planet. So we all had to do something about it, rather than rely on teenage boys to stop sweating. What the scientists said was that man-made chemicals in everyday products such as aerosols, refrigerators and air conditioners were harming the ozone layer. These products had chlorofluorocarbon gases, and these CFC gases were a big problem.

The most astonishing thing—and it's actually sad to say that it's astonishing—is that, when scientists raised the alarm, the world listened. The world listening to scientists should actually be the norm. In 1985, when a hole was confirmed in the ozone layer over Antarctica, the discovery galvanised public opinion. There were concerns about the risks of skin cancer, cataracts, sunburn et cetera because of ultraviolet radiation, and there were very good reasons for Australians, in the sunburnt country, to be worried and to act on protecting the ozone layer.

Protecting the stratospheric ozone layer is especially important for Queenslanders, because we have a lot of sun and we enjoy a very outdoorsy lifestyle, even in Townsville. So I was surprised that the member for Herbert would try to shut me down rather than hear about this. Ozone depletion allows more of the dangerous UV to reach the earth's surface, and this would have a direct effect on the health of Australians and on our environment.

Australians felt exposed and vulnerable to ozone layer depletion. We became more attuned to the environmental impact of global activities. At the time, apparently, Australia was one of the world's largest per capita users of CFCs and halons. So, when the scientists raised the alarm about CFC gases, world leaders decided not to wait. What they did instead was apply what's called the precautionary principle: if in doubt, cut it out. Even before the science was settled, they started to act. Imagine how far along we would be with reducing our greenhouse emissions if some Australian politicians, such as Tony Abbott and his cronies, had taken the same approach to climate change.

In the eighties the environment was not the polarising issue it is today. What's even more remarkable about that is that you have to remember the left-wing politicians who dominated the world stage back then. Do you remember that leftie Ronald Reagan and the British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher! The Soviet Union's leader was Mikhail Gorbachev. These were big figures in a world dominated by the politics of the Cold War. But despite their ideologies and their competing political interests, they still had to overcome business interests, Treasury doubts and political short-termism to protect the future health of the planet. They refused to accept the delaying tactics of chemical companies, some of which argued that action should wait until the science was clearer. Margaret Thatcher, not known for being a big supporter of regulation, was actually a leader in the push for the Montreal Protocol and in the effort to enable compliance by poorer countries. While many uncertainties over the science remained, President Reagan recognised the danger posed by the ozone hole and backed international negotiations to ban CFCs—Ronald Reagan!

On 1 January 1989, the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer became law. By contrast, politicians today in Australia can be very fiercely divided over the government's role in helping to end climate change. The scientists are united, but some politicians are still arguing. Unfortunately, the public can be divided along partisan lines as well because of this bad leadership.

The internet easily lets people do their own research. But, luckily, in the eighties the world responded. At the time there were consumer boycotts, political action and a huge investment in new technologies to replacing CFCs in all their commercial and industrial uses. In his signing statement, former trade unionist and well-known environmentalist Ronald Reagan heralded the Montreal Protocol as 'a model of cooperation' and as 'a product of the recognition and international consensus that ozone depletion is a global problem'.

New CFC production was virtually brought to a halt over the 1990s and early 2000s. It took a while to phase out existing devices that used CFCs, but CFC emissions have been steadily falling since the protocol went into effect. The Montreal Protocol was the first agreement in the history of the United Nations to be ratified by all 197 countries.

There are actually two ozone holes: one above each pole. But since the Montreal Protocol came into effect, more than 99 per cent of the gases responsible for the polar problems have been eradicated. According to the latest United Nations study, the ozone holes are healing at the rate of one to three per cent a decade. Well done humanity, well done scientists and well done politicians who know how to lead a country!

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