Stephen Bates (Brisbane, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

I want to start by saying, from the bottom of my heart, thank you to the people in Brisbane for their help preparing and recovering from Cyclone Alfred. In the wake of heavy wind and flooding, I want to extend my deepest gratitude to every individual and volunteer organisation that stepped up. The resilience, community spirit and unwavering dedication were truly inspiring.

In the two weeks that followed the heavy wind and rain, here's some of what we were able to achieve through my electorate office: we had 158 volunteers, 223 volunteer shifts and 892 volunteer hours. We moved eight tonnes of green waste clear from gardens, driveways and verges. Four-hundred meals were served to residents in power affected suburbs, and dozens of personal drop-offs of care packages for residents with mobility issues were made as well. As always, I want to give a heartfelt thank you to all of our emergency responders: the SES, Queensland fire and emergency services, paramedics and frontline workers, who all worked tirelessly to keep the community safe. Finally, to every Brisbane resident who followed the safety advice, checked in on loved ones and showed resilience in the face of adversity—thank you. Your courage and unity reminds everyone that together we can overcome anything. Unfortunately, these extreme weather events are only going to become much more common.

The climate crisis is something we are already feeling; 2024 was the hottest year in recorded history and the hottest for Australia's oceans. Month after month, we're in a world that is hotter, wetter and more turbulent, with extreme weather events happening more and more frequently and with frighteningly more intensity. Tropical cyclones have long been a reality for many in Australia and the Pacific, but climate change is making them more intense and destructive, and they're moving further south. As our climate rapidly changes, the waters off Australia's east coast are becoming exceptionally warm, providing the perfect conditions for stronger winds, heavy rainfall and larger storms. These cyclones now intensify faster, reach higher wind speeds and produce greater rainfall. They can also maintain their strength for longer and move more slowly, increasing the devastation in affected areas. With sea levels now 20 centimetres higher due to the continued burning of fossil fuels, storm surges and coastal flooding are becoming even more dangerous. According to the Climate Council, over a 24-hour period between 9 March and 10 March, Brisbane received a record-breaking 230 millimetres of rainfall, while lower Springbrook in South East Queensland recorded a staggering 814 millimetres between 3 March and 9 March—that is 80 per cent of Brisbane's average annual rainfall.

As ocean temperatures continue to rise, scientists are warning us that cyclones will track further south along the east coast, threatening densely populated areas that are unprepared for this kind of extreme weather. Most homes and infrastructure in Brisbane are simply not designed to withstand cyclonic conditions. Australians are already experiencing more extreme fire conditions, longer and more intense heatwaves and heavier rainfall-driven flooding due to pollution from coal, oil and gas which is driving climate change.

The financial toll continues to mount with insurance costs skyrocketing. There are homes in my electorate that are already entirely uninsurable. Australians are now paying $30 billion more for insurance than they were just a decade ago—that's more than double the rate of inflation. Families, renters and retirees shouldn't have to pay skyrocketing insurance premiums for a climate crisis that they did not cause. The filthy rich coal and gas companies caused the climate crisis, and they should pick up the tab. In yesterday's budget, far from making fossil fuel companies pay anywhere near their fair share, the government has handed over $56 billion in subsidies to them. Meanwhile, the Albanese government has continued to approve new coal and gas projects since coming to power. This will make the climate crisis worse, make these disasters more frequent and make insurance more expensive. The shameful watering down of environment laws rammed through the House yesterday may well pave the way for even more coal and gas projects.

We need a government that puts the environment and climate before the entitlement of the fossil fuel industry. Our communities are sick of cleaning up again and again from the impacts of climate change while governments don't do enough to combat one of the greatest crises of our time. The only way we will see real action on climate change is with a minority parliament with the Greens in the balance of power.

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