Josh Burns (Macnamara, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

[by video link] At this morning's interview with the Deputy Prime Minister, the petulance that was on display by the person who holds the second-highest office in this country—demanding that someone else create the plan to tackle climate change—tells you everything that you need to know about the Morrison-Joyce government when it comes to tackling climate change. They have been in power for eight long years. For eight long years they have been in power, and for each and every one of those years Australia has remained a laggard when it comes to tackling climate change, and now the petulance of the Deputy Prime Minister is on full display. He was demanding someone else do the work in order to create the plan to tackle climate change.

This is the person with all of the resources of government available to him. This is the person who literally holds the second-highest office in this country. This is the person who literally needs to be the one responsible for the plan. The IPCC report is stark, but it's not surprising. We know we need to act now. We know we need a target that takes us towards net zero emissions. We know we need strong interim targets. We know we need to transition to renewable energy. We know we need to do more, and we need a government willing to lead our country and be a part of the global efforts to tackle climate change. But all we are getting from the Morrison-Joyce government is excuses, petulance and more and more reasons why Australia is lagging behind when we should be leading. (Time expired)