Adam Bandt (Melbourne, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is crystal clear to everyone in this country that we do not have global warming under control. As we suffer through record drought, as we see more and more fish kills in our rivers, as towns are told to expect to run out of water in the coming months and as parts of Australia start burning barely a couple of weeks out of winter, it is time to acknowledge that we do not have global warming under control. It is time to tell it like it is.

The first step towards fixing a problem is admitting that you've got a problem. That is why parliament must declare a climate emergency. It is what the United Kingdom, with a parliament that has a majority of Tories, has done. It is what Canada has done. It is what France has done. They have done it because the scientists have told us that we are running out of time. If we listen to the scientists and accept what the science says, we must accept what the science tells us we have to do, and that means we have to drastically cut our pollution over the next few years instead of letting it continue to rise.

The Greens and the crossbench have been pushing in this parliament for a declaration of a climate emergency so that Australia can join the other countries around the world. I'm glad that Labor has now come on board to support it. The spotlight is now on the Liberal members of parliament who say they accept climate change science. If you do, come and vote for— (Time expired)