Louise Pratt (WA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

They ignore the fact that south-western Australia’s significant drying trend is set to worsen under climate change, leading to 80 per cent more drought by 2070. They ignore the fact that the mean rainfall has declined dramatically in the south-west since the 1960s, causing an even more dramatic decline in downflows. They ignore the threat that climate change poses to Western Australia’s valuable agricultural industries if these trends continue unabated. There is a threat to our fisheries, especially our $300 million rock lobster industry, if the oceans warm and indeed acidify as expected. There are real jobs at risk in all of these industries if climate change continues unabated.

The international community needs to act on climate change and we need to be part of that deal. There is a very grave threat to homes and communities concentrated on the coast in Western Australia if sea levels rise as anticipated. There is also a threat to human health if temperatures continue to rise. In Perth, for example, where there are plenty of very hot days already, it is a regular occurrence for people to die. In fact, around 300 people over the age of 65 per year already suffer heat-related deaths.