Kate Thwaites (Jagajaga, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I recently met with and heard from several Jagajaga residents about their deep concern over the way climate change and the environment are being managed by this government. One resident of Viewbank, Rosemary Wealthy, came to see me to raise her concerns. Rosemary and her friends meet each week at her house to discuss eco diversity, forest preservation, climate change and renewables—issues that impact us locally, nationally and internationally. Rosemary and her friends are not the people who probably come to mind when we think of activists. Indeed, some in this place may characterise them as 'quiet Australians'. But, while they are diligently meeting to discuss their concerns and working out what they can do to support action on climate change and support our environment, this government is actively denying the problem.

Our Pacific neighbours are telling us about how their homes and their livelihoods are being threatened. We're seeing devastating bushfires and spring has just begun. The AMA is warning of the serious health effects of climate change, particularly for young people and the elderly. And, all the while, Australia's greenhouse gas emissions are going up. The government plans to use Kyoto carryover credits to try to meet our climate targets, and the minister says he doesn't know if climate change is man made. Well, the people of Jagajaga know; Rosemary and her friends know, and they deserve a government that knows and that takes action on climate change.