Colin Boyce (Flynn, Liberal National Party) Share this | Hansard source

If Australia produces 1.6 per cent of global carbon emissions, then presumably Australia's contribution to the loss-and-damage fund will be upwards of $16 billion per annum. This is economic insanity. It's communism 101. It is distributing wealth from this country to give to another: countries such as India, Brazil, Mexico, Indonesia, Argentina, Iran and even China, as well as Columbia, who claims an absurd $800 billion a year for loss and damage—a claim roughly 2.5 times its GDP.

The loss-and-damage fund is all based upon an unproven theoretical hypothesis which relies on computer modelling that has no correlation to real world data. How can these climate change policies change the climate when global carbon emissions continually rise? Why do you pretend that our weather patterns have become more threatening when historical records do not reflect this?

Pagan tribes sacrificed virgins to appease the gods and the Labor Albanese government, led by Chris Bowen, will sacrifice Australia's affluence, countless jobs and reliable power to appease the angry climate zealots. This is the pinnacle of economic madness. Minister Bowen has led a charge, committing Australia to an unknown future expense with little regard for the Australian people and the services they rely on.

While they're happy to distribute the wealth of Australia, according to the Australian Medical Association budget papers have revealed $2.4 billion is being cut from public hospitals over the next four years. What this government are saying is they're happy to pluck $2.4 billion out of our hospitals and give it a nations such as China, the world's second-largest economy and the single-largest carbon emitter. They're happy to take money away from hardworking Australians that are hurting every time they go to the supermarkets, pay their electricity bills or fuel up their cars. This is a disgrace and it's an absolute example of hypocrisy and pious virtue signalling.

In the October budget, the Labor government committed $45.8 million over six years for international engagement on climate change issues, including the bid to host a Conference of the Parties in partnership with Pacific islands. There are Pacific nations who are supporting China. Their reason? Australia is not doing enough to support climate change. This while China is the biggest carbon emitter and is not signatory to any of these climate policies. The hypocrisy is staggering, and you can't make this stuff up. Are the entire Labor Party morons? I want to see what madness will come out of their mouths to justify this lunacy. It seems Minister Bowen is willing to concede tens of billions of dollars through the loss-and-damages facility to win critical support for his campaign to host a COP meeting in Australia. If this is the case, how about he hosts the COP meeting at Gladstone, in my electorate of Flynn, and he can explain to the people and the families there how he intends to shut down their industries, take their hard-earned dollars and give them to another country.

The government can't continue signing Australia up to international fund pledges where there is no detail and it has no mandate and which there is no plan to deliver. The coalition didn't sign up a methane pledge. Signing this pledge goes against getting the agriculture sector to grow to $100 billion by 2030. Mr Bowen told the Australian livestock sector that the pledge carries little meaning but told the rest of the world how meaningful that pledge is—a prime example of saying one thing overseas and another in regional Australia. This is after Labor promised the Australian people that they would not introduce a carbon or methane tax. At a time when families are struggling with the cost of energy and mortgage repayments, this tax on the grazing industry will only push up the price of food.

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