Jerome Laxale (Bennelong, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

In May last year, after a decade of neglect, decay and climate change denial, the Australian people voted for a government that would be committed to delivering real action for the environment and climate change. After just one year of the Albanese Labor government, we are delivering on our commitment to put the environment and climate change front and centre. We are paving the way for a more sustainable and prosperous future for all Australians.

We have legislated an emissions reduction target in that year, becoming one of only a handful of nations across the world to do so. In that year, we've reformed the safeguard mechanism to ensure that it actually does what it's meant to do—force our biggest emitters to reduce their emissions year on year. We are rewriting our old and broken environmental laws so that we can better protect our precious natural environment. This government is determined to ensure that our environmental laws are robust, effective and long lasting, making sure there is no room for the future exploitation or destruction of our precious national environment. To enforce those laws, we will also establish the Commonwealth Environment Protection Agency. It will make informed decisions about the developments that affect our environment and whether or not they should proceed, and it will enforce environmental law.

On top of all this, we're putting our money where our mouth is, delivering a budget for the environment and climate change with wins across the board. This budget delivers significant resources for the protection and restoration of our natural wonders. Our commitment of $225 million towards protecting koalas and their habitats is just the beginning. We'll also extend our efforts to safeguard other threatened species across Australia, as their survival is intertwined with the health of our natural ecosystems.

We also know the damage that plastics cause to our fragile flora and fauna. It's imperative that we produce less plastic, that we use less of it and that we find better ways to reduce the plastic we already have. As part of this government's comprehensive approach to recycling, we launched the $250 million Recycling Modernisation Fund and have allocated $60 million to support the development of new recycling infrastructure specifically for hard-to-recycle plastics, including soft plastics. The Recycling Modernisation Fund has already secured funding for 48 additional plastic recycling facilities, with 11 of them already being successfully delivered. And I look forward to Coles and Woolworths re-establishing their plastic drop-offs, because I've got a garage full of soft plastics.

Our commitment to the environment is not only limited to our terrestrial realm. We understand the importance of preserving our oceans. That's why we're investing $163 million to ensure the Australian Institute of Marine Science can continue its world-leading scientific research to protect vital ecosystems, including our Great Barrier Reef. We're backing up our commitment to restore and repair nature with comprehensive programs aimed at repairing and rejuvenating our invaluable and precious World Heritage sites. These sites, with their rich cultural and national significance, deserve our utmost care and attention.

The Albanese government will protect and restore some of our most precious icons, with extra support allocated to Commonwealth national parks, including important heritage sites such as Kakadu, Uluru and Kata Tjuta. We're establishing a national flood warning system that will provide reliable and prompt information to communities in flood prone areas as well.

Our determination to combat the pressing issue of climate change is unwavering. The urgency of the situation demands immediate action, and that's precisely what the Australian people voted for and what the Albanese Labor government is delivering. We have made our firm commitment to achieve net zero emissions—a clear departure from the years of those opposite. We refuse to let political inertia hinder our progress any longer. We're embracing a future that is sustainable, environmentally responsible and geared towards leaving our world better than we found it.

We're empowering individual families to become active participants in this transition to greener energy by allocating $1.3 billion to support households in upgrading their homes with solar and energy storage technologies. This funding will help households unlock the potential of renewable energy to reduce power bills but also help locals reduce their carbon footprint. To promote the adoption of renewable energy, we're also delivering community batteries across Australia. One is already in my electorate, in North Epping, but 400 will be funded across Australia. That will encourage the uptake of solar power and help reduce energy bills.

These are just some of the measures we've taken. I believe we can go further, and I will do that in my time here in parliament.