Kate Lundy (ACT, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Local Government) Share this | Hansard source

The United Nations climate change report released on 3 February this year removes forever the option of denial of and inaction on climate change. The IPCC, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, has reaffirmed what the Howard government has known since 1996 and certainly has failed to act on—that is, climate change is real. It will hurt our economy, our environment and our children’s future. That is why we need to take urgent action now to drastically cut greenhouse gas pollution.

As I said, the alarm bells have been ringing for a very long time, but now they are clamouring, and what we have is a very clever politician of a Prime Minister thinking, ‘How can I give the impression that I’m going to do something about it?’ The 2007 IPCC report reinforces what Mr Howard has been told previously. All of the information that has come out—whether it is the 2005 Climate change: risk and vulnerability report, the 2006 Stern report, the 2003 report Climate change: an Australian guide to the science and potential impacts, two other IPCC reports in 1995 and 2001 or, of course, An Inconvenient Truth, the film by Al Gore—has brought a consciousness of climate change crashing through not only the Australian community but also, finally, the Howard government.

But in true form, because this is not a government with an eye to the future or with a vision or a plan, they are coming up with knee-jerk reactions. They cannot even sing from the same song sheet. We have had contradictions here today from the Prime Minister’s recorded statement alluding to the fact that they were going to move on emissions trading. To that there was almost a flat denial from Senator Minchin today, saying how damaging that would be to jobs and the economy et cetera. So not even the ducks are lined up on the government side. They cannot get their message straight or their costings in order. As usual they are relying on spin, smoke and mirrors to try to trick the Australian people once again into thinking that they have their eye on the future, when they do not and we all know that they do not. We have 10 years of evidence that they do not have their eye on the future.

I was amazed to hear Senator Abetz today, in response to a question that I asked, stand by his previous comments that in fact weeds did pose a greater threat to Australia’s biodiversity. I would like to table the speech that Senator Abetz referenced in his answer to me and the accompanying press release, which not only show that I did not verbal him but have those quotes that I referenced in black and white. I seek leave to table those documents.

Leave not granted.

We know where to find those speeches, Mr Deputy President. It is pretty poor form on behalf of government senators, because I was quoting Senator Abetz in making those comments. That is the problem for this government. They have an inconsistent message. They have all the spin out there, with the Prime Minister talking the talk and announcing his big water initiative, but when push comes to shove they just do not believe it. They are sceptics to the core, and Australians will pay the price forever. People are fearful of the severe weather events that have been occurring, the horrific drought. Along the Great Barrier Reef—one of the earth’s greatest natural amazing icons—the bleaching event that occurred in 2005 was very serious. I know that in 2006 it was only averted by Cyclone Larry. What happens if that keeps occurring?

I note Senator Ian Macdonald laughs. That is not an appropriate response to the genuine concern out there about people’s day-to-day lives and the impact of climate change and the fact that water is part of that issue no matter how often the Howard government try to pretend that they can act on water and continue to ignore climate change. It is offensive that they keep throwing up nuclear energy as an option, as somehow an answer to the increase of greenhouse gases, when we know through the report that was released by the Howard government that in fact emissions will increase by 29 per cent if those 25 nuclear power plants are developed in accordance with the ideas that the Prime Minister is putting around. So there is hypocrisy, and misleading information going out there, and a concerted attempt by a very clever and tricky politician to con us. (Time expired)