Helen Polley (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to take note of answers given by Senator Ian Campbell to questions relating to the environment and climate change—or, should I say, his attempt, in his patronising response, to answer questions. This government has repeatedly demonstrated its ignorance when it comes to the environment and climate change. It has spent the last 10 years in office in complete denial that climate change is a serious problem and, for the last 10 years, it has failed to protect Australia’s environmental and economic future.

This is not just the opinion of members of the opposition; this is a known fact. The Howard government has not been concerned about climate change, because this government, which cares only for the here and now, knows nothing of the concept of planning for the future. This is obviously a view held by many, many Australians. We now see that Australia’s religious communities are uniting to demand action on this serious issue. Sixteen faith communities—including Anglicans, Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, Jews and Aboriginal Australians—have joined together to release a report, titled Common belief: Australia’s faith communities on climate change, which demands that this government act on climate change—and act now.

In its statement, the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils said, ‘The Howard government has a poor record on climate change.’ They were obviously being kind. We all know of this government’s refusal to sign the Kyoto protocol and how it has actively discouraged Australians from taking up more sustainable energy resources. Recently we saw the government move to end a rebate that was available for Australians who wanted to install solar energy systems in their homes. A campaign against that move was led by Mel and Kochie from Channel 7’s Sunrise program and resulted in more than 170,000 Australians signing a petition for the rebate program to be kept in place. Coincidentally, we then saw Mr Costello announce that that program would be kept. If this example is any indication, along with a continuing interest in Mel and Kochie’s Cool the Globe campaign, it would seem that a great majority of Australians are now aware of the very real issue of climate change and the fact that that action is needed.

The Howard government would have liked us all to believe that climate change is a myth—that this is just a scare tactic being bandied about by scientists and environmentalists. That is most certainly not the case. You only have to take a drive in the countryside around Canberra to see how dry this wonderful country of ours is. This is a problem that is not going to go away, and the only solution that the Prime Minister is offering is nuclear energy—another one of his ideological agendas left over from 20 years ago.

In the interfaith report on climate change, the Uniting Church of Australia was vehement in its opposition to nuclear energy, stating:

We believe that the continued research, development and implementation of renewable energy is an absolute priority for governments and industry in order to minimise greenhouse gas production. As a matter of urgency we must reduce our dependence on fossil fuels.

This report by Australia’s interfaith leaders, which represents more than 12½ million Australians, is the greatest demonstration yet of just how out of touch the Howard government is when it comes to the issue of climate change and the effect it is having on Australia’s environment.

I would have thought that some of my Tasmanian colleagues within the government—who I know identify themselves as members of the communities included in the report—would be urging Mr Howard and the Minister for the Environment and Heritage to take action. But it would appear that they are just as out of touch as their rest of their colleagues are with the Australian people on this issue. It is very disappointing.

Also of note in the report is the point made by the Federation of Islamic Councils that the rapid onset of climate change will only be slowed down by shifting the focus away from consumerism and ‘the concept of profit above everything else’. This attitude of profit above everything else resounds right through the Howard government. You only have to look at its so-called Work Choices laws or the Independent Contractors Bill that we debated in this place last week. Unfortunately for this government and for Australia, the government has failed to realise that climate change and the environment will have a far greater effect on our economy than they could ever have predicted. The report indicates just how much weight the Australian people put on this issue, whether the government likes it or not. Our religious leaders have confirmed what Labor has known for some time, and we will continue to put forward Labor’s plan to combat climate change.