Jodie Belyea (Dunkley, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak about climate change and the transition to renewable energy. In my first speech I spoke about my commitment to climate action and the transition to renewable energy. This is an important issue that this government is committed to acting on.

We all know that there is so much work to do globally to combat climate change. The figures are increasingly worrying. The State of the climate 2024 report highlights that Australia's climate has warmed by an average of 1.51 degrees since national records began. The warmer weather has led to an increase in the frequency of extreme heat events over land and in the oceans. There has been a reduction in rainfall of between nine and 16 per cent across Australia. Since 1950, there has been an increase in extreme fire weather and longer fire seasons across large parts of the country. Sea levels are rising around Australia, including more frequent, extreme high levels that increase risks to coastal infrastructure and communities. These are grim facts. There is no denying it, but we must accept the reality. More must be done—now more than ever.

What hasn't helped is the nine years of utter chaos in climate policy under the Liberals. How many different policies did they have? The only one I remember is the National Energy Guarantee, which sunk Malcolm Turnbull's prime ministership. After a decade of delay from the Liberals, Australians voted for climate action, and, with the Albanese Labor government in charge of this country's energy policy, we have taken steps to transition Australia to a renewable energy future. We have set in law a target of net zero emissions by 2050, working towards reducing Australia's emissions by 43 per cent by 2030. This target was included in Australia's nationally determined contribution communication 2022, under the Paris Agreement. The Australian government launched the Net Zero in Government Operations Strategy in November 2023 to describe how it will achieve this target. These targets are supported by renewable energy legislation that was introduced earlier this year by the Minister for Climate Change and Energy.

A key initiative working towards our net zero target is the installation of solar panels. Australia is leading the world in rooftop solar. Recently, Minister Bowen attended the four-millionth solar panel installation in Australia, which is a milestone for Australia's solar industry and a milestone for Australia's energy consumers. Just today, the Minister for the Environment and Water announced a new solar farm near Bendigo, in Victoria, to power 118,000 homes. This is another important milestone in the government's plan to make Australia a renewable energy superpower. Solar energy on our rooftops is in many ways the most important form of energy in our national energy market. What we know is that, if you put rooftop solar on your roof today, you will save money on your energy bills tomorrow.

But we've got a lot more to do. We've got to help families further by reducing their cost of living with solar panels and batteries.

Speaking of batteries, a couple of weeks ago, I had the pleasure of hosting Assistant Minister for Climate Change and Energy in Dunkley to visit the site of a soon-to-be-built Carrum Downs community battery. Funded by the federal government to the tune of $500,000, this battery will be built by United Energy with support from Frankston City Council. The battery will store excess rooftop solar when supply exceeds demand, storing it for when there is strain on the energy grid, ensuring that locals in the Carrum Downs area can access electricity. This will save many residents across the area significant amounts of money when there is a spike in the wholesale price. In addition to this, we have delivered energy efficiency grants to support small business. The Assistant Minister for Climate Change and Energy and I were pleased to visit Ding, the owner of Fat Chef Cafe in Carrum Downs, who recently a $21,000 grant to install an electronic oven to reduce emissions and reduce his gas bill.

Another issue is the chronic amount of pollution and plastics in our natural environments. In my electorate of Dunkley, we see with our own eyes the significant impacts of plastic litter and plastic being washed up on our beaches each day, impacting our environment, our local wellbeing and the visitor economy, particularly after the recent storms. Every year, 1.84 billion single-use cups are wasted by Australians, contributing to health, litter, landfill and climate change. According to the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water, 130,000 tonnes of plastics leak into the marine environment in Australia every year. Globally, it is estimated that over 12 million tonnes of plastic leaks into the ocean every year. According to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, based on current trends there will be more plastic than fish, by weight, in the ocean by 2050.

I recently met with the Boomerang Alliance, who has been shining a light on the use of plastic packaging, which, in Australia, is excessive, wasteful and dangerous to the environment and our wildlife. They have developed a stewardship model packaging framework, including guidelines for a best-practice scheme to inform the proposed Commonwealth scheme. The scheme will include guidelines and principles for packaging and circular economy arrangement. The framework is built on the premise that businesses producing or selling packaging have a responsibility beyond the design and use of their packaging—to contribute towards it being collected, reused, recycled and composted.

I also met with Common Grace, a Christian organisation committed to campaigning for justice. One of the areas they do the most campaigning on is climate justice and action. In Dunkley, we have many passionate locals working hard to address the impacts such as Plastic Free Places, which has been running across the region for several years. Plastic Free Places is supporting local businesses and organisations to adopt plastic-free practices—for example, carrying a reusable water bottle and taking their own cup for a takeaway coffee. It's small things like this that all of us can take action on to make a change. I'm excited to see more and more sporting events and festivals embracing reusables. We know we need to reduce our reliance on single-use plastics whilst avoiding the emissions and waste materials plastics produce.

In Western Australia, we have recently invested $8 million into a bioplastic hub to break down and create compostable packaging. We know there is so much more to do and are working to change legislation to ensure targets are mandatory, not voluntary, so they are consistently achieved. Thanks to the local organisations, staff and dedicated volunteers from Dunkley and beyond that I have met with—Toby and Birte from Boomerang Alliance, Plastic Free Places, Beach Patrol Frankston, the South East Climate Change Alliance, Common Grace and Labor's own Environmental Action Network. We need passionate people and organisations advocating and facilitating projects and discussions that support much-needed reforms and change at an individual, community and national level.

The Commonwealth government is taking a strong position through a range of strategies targeting business, supply and adaption, which is incredibly valuable. As I said in my first speech, I'm committed to taking action on climate change and to being a voice. I will do what I can as the MP for Dunkley to promote initiatives, share ideas, provide feedback and advocate for climate adaption for the sake of our children, our communities and our planet. There is more we can do, and we need to do it now. Who is going to join me?