Kylea Tink (North Sydney, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

I rise in support of this motion today because I can't help but concur with both my esteemed colleagues from Warringah and Curtin that, without a doubt, this is the most single most pressing issue that our 47th Parliament should be leaning into. The reality is that, when it comes to our climate debates, climate discussions and the development of strategy in the area, the only number that matters is 1.5 degrees. We can sit in this chamber and argue about 43 per cent emission reduction. We can sit in this chamber and argue about net zero by 2050. But, if we go over 1½ degrees, which it looks more than likely we are going to, it all becomes about the magnitude by which we go past that number.

A report into the first global stocktake for our climate position at the moment has experts predicting that we will likely hit 2½ Celsius, and that will be the focus of discussions at COP 28. We as Australians have to answer the question: what is our role in climate justice not just for our region but for our planet? Our Pacific nation neighbours are looking to us to help them navigate what the future looks like and, more importantly, to stop contributing to the problems they are facing. I recently had the privilege of meeting with a delegation from Fiji, and those people spoke to me with such emotion about their villages literally disappearing underwater, of sea walls that used to last decades not even lasting five years anymore and of 40 villages in the islands of Fiji that now need to be relocated. As a nation we cannot stick our heads in the sand any longer.

To the member for Warringah's comments, one of the biggest risks to us here in Australia is the sheer magnitude of the population movement that will take place as societies crumble. Let's be really clear. At the moment here in Australia we are fortunate to have three people living per square kilometre. We have heaps of room for lots of people. On the flipside, in Bangladesh, they have 1,250 people living in every square kilometre, while in Jakarta in Indonesia there are 19,000 people living in every square kilometre. It probably goes without saying that Jakarta is disappearing underwater, and Indonesia is seeking to move its capital by 2025.

There are three things we as Australians need from our government right now. We need transparency around the scale of the risk to our nation. We need an office of climate threat, and we need them to have access to the intelligence that is provided by the Office of National Intelligence. We need to rebuild climate science and risk analysis in both the Public Service and the CSIRO.

As both the previous speakers have discussed, the thing that is perhaps most distressing and should be most distressing for all Australians is that our allies have no fear in sharing what they know with their countries and their citizens, and they are doing that because they are facing what is required of them as leaders. They are speaking with their residents about what must be done as nations to survive, yet our government continues to leave us in the dark.

What I would like to know from our government—and I agree it should be the defence minister in here today—is: are the findings of the Office of National Intelligence report consistent with the Chatham House findings from the UK? If they are, why is that information not being shared with Australians? What specifically does this government propose to do to prepare us for the challenges we are about to face?

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