Andrew Giles (Scullin, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Last week, in the course of the parliamentary sittings, I had the opportunity to wander down to the front lawns of Parliament House and meet with a range of workers. They were employees of the CSIRO, their supporters and the trade union, which does a wonderful job in representing their interests—the Community and Public Sector Union. I was there to show my support, along with a large number of Labor colleagues, for the work that they do—work that is under threat. This government has engaged in some serious attacks on science and serious attacks on the Public Service. It is so important in this place that we reverse both of those attacks. In talking to those CSIRO scientists, I wanted to deliver them two messages. The first is that I understand how important their climate science work is to how we live today and how we may adapt in the future. It is a matter of importance not only to me but to those who come after us—I see some children here in the gallery in the Federation Chamber. The second is that the attack goes beyond the particular nature of these people's work. It goes to the nature of public service in this country. What we have seen from this government, first under Prime Minister Abbott and now Prime Minister Turnbull, is contempt, compounded by neglect and cuts to the Public Service. This is something that must be reversed—in Canberra, in Melbourne and in Hobart, in the CSIRO and elsewhere. This government stands condemned for its attack on climate science and on those who perform the work generally.