Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Climate Change and Water) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you, Mr President. It is interesting to notice the different range of interjections on the other side when the words ‘climate change’ are uttered in this chamber, evincing yet again the complete division on that side, certainly between Senators Boswell and Minchin and others who claim to care about the issue of climate change and want to do something about it. What we know is that carbon pollution and other greenhouse gases are causing the world’s climate change and we are experiencing more extreme weather, higher temperatures, more droughts and rising sea levels. We also know that, with one of the hottest and driest continents on earth, this nation’s environment and our economy will be one of the hardest and fastest hit by climate change if we do not act now.

At the last election Australians made it clear that they wanted action on climate change; that they, unlike too many in the Howard government, understood the challenge of climate change and wanted a government to act. We are getting on with the job of tackling climate change in a number of ways. As you will recall, Mr President, our first official act was to ratify the Kyoto protocol. We are now engaged in negotiations for a global agreement. We are creating a massive expansion in low-pollution jobs and renewable energy, firstly, with our 20 per cent renewable energy target, which will increase the uptake of renewable energy in this country by four times—a massive investment in renewable energy in Australia. Through the Nation Building and Jobs Plan, which was announced by the Prime Minister, we have made the largest investment in energy efficiency in the nation’s history. Later today I will be releasing the exposure draft legislation for the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme. We will be releasing that exposure draft, as we said we would; the outworking of the decisions in the white paper (Time expired)