Yvette D'Ath (Petrie, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. For the benefit of those members who were not present at the Climate Commission Forum yesterday, will the Prime Minister update the House on what the latest climate science tells us and how it contributes to evidence based policy making?

Julia Gillard (Lalor, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Petrie for a question which invites this parliament to consider the facts. I know there are some who will struggle with this concept, considering the facts, but that is what the Climate Commission Forum yesterday in Parliament House was all about. It was an opportunity for all members of parliament to listen to the facts and to hear about global warming and the science. I want to acknowledge each and every member who did attend the forum. I want to acknowledge the role of the member for New England in ensuring the forum happened here in Parliament House.

These forums are important because they are about evidence and facts. In yesterday's forum the scientists told us that global temperatures are rising and in Australia the number of hot days has doubled over the last 50 years. The scientists told us that another 20 centimetres of rise by 2050 would more than double the risk of coastal flooding. The scientists told us of the damage already being done to the Great Barrier Reef through nine major coral-bleaching events since 1979. The scientists told us about the greater risks of extreme weather events like floods, bushfires and cyclones.

Despite this evidence from the scientists, the reaction generally of the opposition has been to attack the scientists. We have seen Nick Minchin in particular go out and attack the scientists, claiming it is offensive to say that the debate about climate change is over and that it all needs to be taken with a grain of salt. Then there is the Leader of the Opposition, who clearly could not be bothered to look at this important report, who falsely claimed that it backed his direct action plan, whereas in fact the report actually says that such a measure would not enable us to meet our emissions reduction targets. It is a very worrying sign from the opposition that they continue to be mired in climate change denial. We know that from their general failure to attend the forum yesterday. We also know it from the member for Wentworth on Lateline who very clearly said that the Leader of the Opposition's plan is the sort of plan you have when you want one that does not work, the sort of plan you have when you want one that you can stop because in truth you are a climate change sceptic and denier and all of this is a pretence to the Australian people. I detect a theme here across the issues that have been under debate in this parliament this week. There we have the opposition on the side of the big polluters rather than tackling climate change. There we have the opposition on the side of big tobacco rather than with those who would try to save Australian lives by encouraging people not to smoke.

What this shows is that the Leader of the Opposition in every area rejects the evidence; he rejects the expert advice. It goes to show what a risk he is and how mired he is in the past. He is stuck back in a time where people apparently did not think smoking was a worry for public health. He is stuck back in a time before the scientific consensus became that climate change is real. On this side of the House we will continue to deal with these challenges. We will continue to do what we need to do to prepare this country for the future—accept the evidence, deal with the facts, design the policies and implement them. We are not stuck in the past and stuck in denial like the Leader of the Opposition.