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

My question is to the Prime Minister. Australia's in record drought. Catastrophic megafires have burnt our country. Our capital cities have ranked amongst the world's most polluted, and now we're facing a flood disaster. Do you now accept that we are facing a coal-fuelled climate emergency?

Scott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

As I advised the House last week, the royal commission that the government will be moving forward on—once I receive feedback from the states and the territories on the terms of reference for that royal commission, and, at that time, I will then forward a copy of that to the opposition before announcing what we intend to do with that royal commission—starts from the premise that we're dealing with longer, hotter, drier summers, and I have always acknowledged the link between the climate change and these broader weather climatic events. That has not been in dispute by our government, and it is not in dispute by our government. Those opposite huff and they giggle and they smirk, but that is because they are seeking to put forward a false conflict in this place. Our government is taking action to reduce emissions, and they've fallen by 12.8 per cent. Our government has put in place policies that have led to one of the highest levels of renewable investments that this country has ever seen. They can deny the facts if they like, but they are the facts.

What I have also said in response to this dreadful black summer that we have been experiencing is that taking action on climate change isn't just about taking action on emissions. It's about taking action on climate resilience. It's about taking action on climate adaptation. It's about taking action on hazard reduction, which is a form of climate resilience. It is about building dams, like the billions of dollars we're investing in those projects through the national water grid. Building dams is climate action now. Hazard reduction is climate action now.

I note the Leader of the Greens doesn't agree with that. He's entitled not to agree with that, but the science suggests that it is, and our government will act on that. You may want to select and choose those bits you want to listen to to make climate change about being anticapitalism, but that's not what we think. We think that capitalism and technology are the way you ensure a brighter future for this world and for this country. That's what our policies will be driven by.

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Prime Minister will resume his seat. Has the Prime Minister concluded his answer?

Scott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

No.

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Leader of the Greens, on a point of order?

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

It's on relevance. The short question was about whether the Prime Minister accepts it's a climate emergency.

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I point out again to the Leader of the Greens, as I've pointed out many times, the question also had a long preamble, and, when there's a long preamble, it leaves it open to the responder to deal with that part of the question. The Prime Minister is in order.

Scott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you, Mr Speaker. Let me be very clear. Our government will meet and beat our Kyoto targets on emissions reductions, and we will meet and beat our Paris targets. We will go 411 million tonnes higher than our Kyoto targets. The Leader of the Opposition can't even formulate a policy on what the emissions target for 2030, which he seeks to lecture us about, should be. We will do that without putting a tax on people, we will do that without putting people's electricity prices up and we will do that without wiping out people's jobs, particularly the jobs of those in regional Australia who depend on them for their livelihood.