Steve Georganas (Adelaide, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to support the Ozone Protection and Synthetic Greenhouse Gas Management Reform (Closing the Hole in the Ozone Layer) Bill 2022 and important cognate bills. These bills are important components of things that will help Australia reduce our hydrofluorocarbons in the atmosphere. And, importantly, they will help us meet our recently introduced emissions reductions targets.

There are many in this place who can remember when the world first started speaking about the hole in the ozone layer many, many decades ago. I think we can all recall it. For many Australians that would have been the first time that environmental threats had actually become real. It would have resonated with people that there was a real threat, as the ozone hole seemed to affect us more than other geographic locations around the world. In fact, there were things saying the hole was right above Australia. We were hearing that and so, for all of us, the term hydrofluorocarbons entered into our common vocabulary and became part of our language at that particular point.

Hydrofluorocarbons are a greenhouse gas as well as an ozone-depleting gas. These bills implement our obligations under the Montreal Protocol on substances that deplete the ozone layer, so this treaty is one of the most successful treaties we have seen. Every country has become a signatory, which is why it has been so successful in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. It also shows that, with global collaboration, with countries working together internationally, we can achieve so much.

We, on this side of the House, understand this. You would have seen the climate change minister attending COP last week or the week before and having international discussions. That is part of it, talking to everyone around the world on an international scale so that we can reduce emissions. We're taking real action to protect the environment and to tackle climate change. And after the recent years of natural disasters, aggravated by climate change, Australians are asking for real action. That's what I'm hearing in my electorate. That's what I heard during the election campaign, and that's what I've been hearing for a number of years.

Our government has made a commitment to reduce our emissions, by 43 per cent by 2030, and we are delivering. We saw our bill go through the House recently. We've already passed our Climate Change Bill through the parliament and, through these bills that appear before us today, we'll continue to phase down emissions and hydrofluorocarbons in our atmosphere. This is part of meeting that target. It's critical, in fact, to meeting that target. We know that HFCs are dangerous greenhouse gases that are 4,000 times as harmful to our environment as carbon dioxide. So this will improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the Ozone Protection and Synthetic Greenhouse Gas Management Program and will continue to keep it strong. We know that protecting the ozone layer is absolutely paramount to the wellbeing of Australians and the Australian environment. So this is an important program for Australia as it implements our international obligations under the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer.

The Montreal protocol, as I said, was one of the most successful climate change treaties internationally, and it has demonstrated success in protecting the ozone layer and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. I remember that back then, when we first started talking about the hole in the ozone layer and this particular issue, people were saying it could never happen or it might not be able to happen. But we proved that it can happen. We proved that, working together on a united front around the world, we've seen the effects. Thanks to the efforts of all of those countries, the ozone layer is projected to recover by the middle of this century. That goes to show that, by taking action years ago, we've actually turned it around, and now it's going the opposite way, which is a positive for the environment.

This continues the history of Labor governments that take action on global climate issues. Australia, as we heard earlier from the member for Fremantle, under the Hawke government in the late 1980s was instrumental in gaining agreement, by all parties to the Montreal protocol, to the worldwide phase-down of hydrofluorocarbons. Under our Albanese Labor government, Australia will re-establish our international leadership role on the environment. It is estimated that the global phase-down of HFC production under the Montreal protocol will prevent the equivalent of 420 gigatonnes worth of carbon dioxide being released into the atmosphere by 2100, and Australia is on track to reach 85 per cent reduction in our consumption by 2036.

We're proud to work alongside Australian industry as it moves to alternative technology and manages environmentally harmful chemicals to minimise emissions. In the refrigeration and air-conditioning sector, we saw industry work together, and Australia has a world-leading approach to managing these substances from import through the supply chain to use in the economy and then at the end of life. Australia has also established a product stewardship scheme to collect used refrigerant; the scheme turns these potent greenhouse gases into harmless salty water. Australian industry is crucial to the way that we engage with our Pacific neighbours as well. Our companies have been partnering with the Pacific to assist their phase-out of ozone-depleting chemicals. By working constructively with our neighbours, we can move away from refrigerants that damage the region.

Changes in this bill lay the foundation for future additional initiatives to reduce synthetic greenhouse gas emissions and also to assist Australia to meet its 2030 target. We have wasted no time, since coming into office, in our efforts to tackle the environmental and climate challenges that the previous government ignored. I'm so committed to protecting our environment for our children and our grandchildren and for the sake of this planet. We're investing $1.8 billion for the environment, and we're reforming the national environment laws and protecting 30 per cent of our land and 30 per cent of our oceans by 2030. We will finally and properly respond to the Samuel report on the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.

The government is also developing a full response to the independent review of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act. In the interim, $117.1 million will ensure assessment and compliance activities continue while broader planning is undertaken to improve the system. We will deliver on our election commitments by making the environment a real priority again. We can no longer deny that Australia is in the midst of an extinction crisis when you see some of the reports that have come out. This is why I welcome the threatened species action plan towards zero extinctions launched by our environment minister. The State of the Environment Report identified that we are the mammal extinction capital of the world. The government is responding with strong actions and targeted spending through the Saving Native Species program and we are also taking concrete steps to address climate change and our energy transformation.

The government is delivering a long overdue investment to make energy cleaner, cheaper and more secure and to create jobs in new industries and the regions and, on top of that, cut emission by doing so. The international fossil fuel crisis that has been triggered by Russia's illegal war has shown Australia the consequences of a decade of underinvestment in the cheapest form of new energy—that is, renewables. The proof of that is that when there is a crisis, if we had invested in renewables, if we had clear energy policies for the last 10 years, we may not be in this position now. That is why we are investing $20 billion in low-cost finance for the urgent upgrade and expansion of Australia's electricity grid at lowest cost. This will unlock new renewables, increase the security of the grid and drive down power prices. And under the National Energy Transformation Partnership we will have the first national plan between the states, territories and the Commonwealth to keep the lights on through Australia's massive energy transformation. The government is committed to working with First Nations people to address the challenges ahead. We will be delivering cleaner and more affordable energy to households and businesses and we will become a renewable energy superpower, ensuring that we take advantage of the job and investment opportunities that have been missed for so long.

These are not lofty goals. These are absolute necessary steps that governments must take and we, as I said, have wasted too much time already. We know that previously, over the last 10 years, we were stuck in a conundrum where there were so many different energy policies. We saw the then government not being able to agree on them, so would change them every so often. If you were investing in renewables, why would you when there is no certainty? We want to make sure that there is certainty so that we have investment in these renewables so that we secure Australia's energy needs and, at the same time, lower emissions. I, for one, will not waste the opportunity I have as a member of parliament and I will take every opportunity to support real reform and real action. That is why I am so pleased to support these bills, as my colleagues are. They will implement the remaining recommendations from the 2016 review of the ozone protection and synthetic greenhouse gas program.

These bills will also update the act to include Australia's climate change obligations under the Paris Agreement and this will help us further regulate harmful chemicals being released into the atmosphere. They will improve compliance and enforcement by refining existing criminal offences. They also introduce new offences and civil penalties to cover non-compliance relating to the import, export or manufacture of ozone-depleting substances.

I commend the bills to the House. Let's ensure that future generations do not look back and accuse us of doing nothing to save this planet.

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