Dana Wortley (SA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the Migration (Climate Refugees) Amendment Bill 2007. Addressing the issue of climate change is a genuine priority for Labor. We believe there are many measures that urgently need to be put in place if we are to limit the impact of climate change globally, including on our nation and on our neighbours, many of whom are vulnerable on a number of fronts. As we know, the Howard government has been asleep on climate change, yet it is an issue we cannot afford to take our eyes off for a moment, let alone be caught dozing on.

The Prime Minister, who has been a famous sceptic on this issue, and the government have failed to provide solutions to environmental concerns for 11 years. For its entire term in office, this government has failed to listen to the recommendations of experts. When it is awake, even if only for a moment, this government does not really know what it believes about climate change and emissions trading.

In contrast, Labor believes climate change is a real and immediate threat. While those in power have been idle and indifferent, on this side we have been asking the questions, putting forward ways to address environmental issues, moving amendments and introducing bills. Not surprisingly, the will and wishes of the Australian people are behind us on this issue. In fact, they are trying to do more than the government about global warming on a household by household, workplace by workplace basis. Right across Australia in homes and businesses, people are recycling, switching on to solar power, being water wise and conserving energy in greater numbers than ever before. While the government treats climate change as though it is a minor irritant, Australian families are not in any doubt about its importance. This should not shock anyone—we know the government is out of touch with the population it is meant to represent.

As we consistently see in surveys, our constituents across the country rank climate change policy as crucial to the future wellbeing, security and prosperity of our nation and our planet—and they are spot on. The Australian people are worried about the government’s interminable inaction on this issue. They are worried about the irreparable damage this environmental blight already has wreaked on our world and, even more so, about the devastation it will bring in the future.

That serious concern is understandable, given that 600 scientists from 113 nations, including 42 from Australia, on the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change have found:

Warming of the climate system is unequivocal, as is now evident from observations of increases in global average air and ocean temperatures, widespread melting of snow and ice, and rising global average sea level.

We also have been warned in Australia responds: helping our neighbours fight climate change, a report by Australian environmental and aid non-government organisations, that unless our government acts now any efforts to help lift our poorest neighbours out of poverty will fail.

Despite having lower populations than their developing counterparts, industrialised countries are responsible for 76 per cent of the world’s historical emissions, according to World Resources Institute estimates. In the first year of this century, emissions by industrialised countries were listed at 14.1 tonnes per person, not including land use change. This figure is more than four times the per capita output of developing nations, which emit an average of 3.3 tonnes per person.

As if developing countries do not have enough to struggle with, it is predicted that climate change will increase drought in Africa; hit the populous delta regions of the Mekong and Bangladesh with sea level rises; cause the further retreat of Himalayan glaciers, meaning worsening water shortages in China and India; and degrade the forests, farming land and fish stocks that many impoverished families rely on for their survival. Of course, then there is the increase in death and disease predicted as mosquitoes thrive and heatwaves, hurricanes and floods occur with ever-increasing frequency and ferocity.

As water suitable for drinking dries up and the scourge of malnutrition takes an even-greater and more tragic hold of the children of Africa, climate change effects will reach cataclysmic proportions. It is predictable that there will be ever-increasing numbers of climate change refugees as environmental disasters become less isolated and more frequent.

Labor recognises that our Pacific island neighbours face increasing environmental challenges arising from climate change. However, Labor notes that there needs to be an international effort to deal with people displaced by the effects of climate change. Labor will establish an international coalition to resettle people displaced by the effects of climate change when a country becomes uninhabitable because of rising sea levels, damage to coastal infrastructure or reduced food security and water supplies. This will be done as part of our Pacific climate change strategy.

It is the very survival of our planet as a viable and healthy life host that is at stake. We can and must act now. Last year’s Stern review is true to its name when it comes to making the point about the necessity for, and responsibility of, prosperous countries to work with less wealthy nations. It says:

The poorest developing countries will be hit earliest and hardest by climate change, even though they have contributed little to causing the problem.

Their low incomes make it difficult to finance adaptation. The international community has an obligation to support them in adapting to climate change. Without such support there is a serious risk that development progress will be undermined.

And Stern is no orphan among leading international reports. The world needs hope and we are in the position of being able to do something about it. If we do set out on a path towards meaningful action, the resulting benefits will not just be environmental—there will be significant rewards on the economic, diplomatic and security fronts, too. But this government, it appears, is simply not up to meeting the immense and burning challenge climate change presents. One suspects the too-hard basket is looking decidedly full and the heat in the kitchen has become unbearable. In stark contrast, Labor is ready to hit the parched ground running.

On this side, we understand the urgency and the desperate need for action. A Rudd Labor government would immediately ratify the Kyoto protocol, sending the world an unpolluted view of our serious, unwavering pledge to be part of the global climate change solution rather than continue to undermine international efforts. Signing on to the protocol will also give Australia a position of influence when it comes to moving forward in partnership with other nations. Labor will adopt a 60 per cent emission reduction target by the middle of the century and set up a carbon trading scheme, among other measures.

Under Kevin Rudd we will increase aid expenditure on climate change by $150 million over three years. This will be targeted at helping our poorer neighbours prepare to cope with the effects of climate change. In particular, Labor will assist countries most susceptible to extreme events, including those in low-lying regions. Labor will work with Pacific nations to analyse, plan and implement the necessary measures. To deliver these ends, Australia will team up with the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank and other developed nations in the region. Labor will make sure our national aid program reflects our commitment to climate change considerations, promoting through it the use of low carbon emitting technologies.

We recognise, too, that better forest management in the Asia-Pacific is a key element in a cleaner, greener future. Within the structure of the World Bank’s Forest Carbon Partnership Facility initiative, Labor will head a new global deforestation initiative. We believe investing in the life-giving rainforests of the world is crucial, but we will not wane in our focus on slashing our own emissions. Under Labor, Australia will share its technological and scientific knowledge for the betterment of all nations. We believe establishing a Pacific climate change centre would benefit the region by monitoring, measuring and forecasting climate change developments. Labor will also give backing to non-government organisations to help deliver the different, deliberate and determined plans and programs needed.

A Rudd Labor government will give substantial and significant support to the international foundations, including the Least Developed Countries Fund, the Special Climate Change Fund and the Adaptation Fund, already in existence to help developing countries adapt to a world darkened by the climate change spectre. Australia’s contributions to these funds in the past have been an embarrassment. The time for action is well and truly upon us. We must work on recovering lost ground by taking the lead when it comes to reducing the world’s emissions. Only in this way and by committing to a comprehensive, considered and collaborative plan into the future will we avoid the worst impacts of global warming and climate change on our planet.

The bill before the Senate today prescribes a unilateral response to people displaced by climate change and undermines the principle of shared responsibility that Labor supports. On this basis, Labor cannot support the bill.