Sally Sitou (Reid, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I appreciate the contributions from those opposite, and I appreciate the opportunity to talk about the communities that we get to represent. Unlike those opposite, we have a very clear and simple view when it comes to climate change: we believe it's real, we believe it is having a devastating impact on communities and we believe we need to address climate change by moving towards more renewable energy. We also believe that if we manage the transition well we'll be able to create new, clean energy jobs. That's what we believe on this side of the House. It's a belief backed by science, backed by the international community and backed by business and industry.

What do those opposite believe? Do they believe in the science of climate change? Not sure. Do they believe the businesses yelling out for investment certainty? Doubtful. Do they believe in renewable energy? Only nuclear, it seems—and the member for Cook seems to have a greater affinity for lumps of coal. Those opposite have a dysfunctional relationship with renewable energy. It's so dysfunctional, you could almost make a documentary out of it—and the ABC did just that on Monday night on the infamous NEG: the National Energy Guarantee. In the words of former treasurer Josh Frydenberg, it was a policy designed by experts, backed by business, supported by states and by modelling. It would show that energy prices could come down, create a more sustainable grid and a smaller carbon footprint. And yet those opposite couldn't back it. Why? As we were reminded by the former Liberal prime minister Malcolm Turnbull, they saw an attempt to reduce emissions as surrendering to the climate gods. They fought long and hard to wreck any action to address climate change, and to deny this country the opportunity to take advantage of the extraordinary natural advantages this country has.

The final instalment of Nemesis will air next Monday, and the focus will be on our coal-loving, Hawaii-vacationing former prime minister. I hope the documentary focuses on a key moment in the Morrison government, when they utterly and completely let down communities in rural and regional Australia. It was during the 2019-2020 bushfires. The former prime minister was on vacation and made his infamous statement about not holding a hose. But, worse still, he refused to listen to advice from Greg Mullins, former commissioner of fire and rescue NSW. Greg Mullins said of those devastating bushfires that raged for months and months:

… this disaster is a weather-driven event, not a fuel-driven one, underpinned by years of drying and warming. Climate change is the driver of increasing extreme weather.

He directed his frustration at the former prime minister:

… together with 22 former fire and emergency service chiefs from every state and territory I had tried from April 2019 to warn the prime minister about what veteran firefighters, climate scientists and meteorologists all identified as a looming bushfire disaster. We were ignored and trivialised …

It seems the former Prime Minister not only couldn't hold a hose, he couldn't take a simple meeting, and it was a damning indictment of the Morrison government from the former fire commissioner. There has been an appalling failure in national leadership from Canberra. I thank the members opposite for raising this matter of public importance because it is important we consider the impact climate change has on communities right across Australia.

To the communities on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales, the Hunter region, Wollondilly, Blue Mountains, the Hawkesbury, East Gippsland and other communities so badly devastated by those bushfires, I say that we will never forget the impact those fires had on your lives. That's why we are acting to address climate change. That's why we have set a target of 82 per cent renewable energy by 2030.

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