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

The Morrison-Joyce government's entire way of operating is to sit back while events unfold around them and pretend they have absolutely no control over them, other than coming up with a political slogan and pulling a stunt. That is why we have a Prime Minister who showed up in this place fondling a piece of coal and who is now flailing around trying to land a credible policy to take to Glasgow. That is why we have a Deputy Prime Minister who pretends he is some kind of radical outsider who has only had four hours to consider what climate action should look like in this country, instead of having eight years as a senior government member. That is why we have so-called modern Liberals who talk about the need for climate action but who are unable or unwilling to overcome the Nationals in their coalition to get action.

This has to be called for what it is: a catastrophic failure of leadership. We are beyond fed up with the climate wars. After eight years in power, three prime ministers and just a week before the Glasgow climate conference, this country does not have a credible climate policy. The consequence of the Morrison-Joyce government's failures is that we will miss out on the jobs and the industries we should be building as part of the transition to a clean energy future. We are missing the window to take action before catastrophic climate change gets baked in. We need a commitment to net zero and we need it legislated. We need a serious medium-term target and we need a change of government.