Deborah O'Neill (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I withdraw. This government is apparently reliant on a compliant press. They are going to do all they can to endeavour to make that press comply. They promised that they would improve relations with Indonesia; instead they have allowed them to be dragged through the mud in an unseemly fashion that has damaged both nations' interests in the process.

This government promised to be responsible with public expenditure but on coming to office have proceeded to blow the budget by billions of dollars. As well, they are foregoing significant revenue. It is little wonder they were hell-bent on removing the debt ceiling without even bothering to inform the parliament where the money would go. And, thanks to the economic fringe dwellers from the Greens party, they have got their wishes. They promised a unity ticket on the Gonski funding model before the election and then, as soon as they got here, they decided to break that critical election promise that is about building the capacity of this nation. It is not just about kids in school but their productive capacity as great learners moving into the 21st century.

Now they are pretending that the $1.2 billion with no strings attached for the non-signatory states is an improvement on Labor's model, but there is no mention of the fact that those states can, as a result of this Liberal government coming into power, now gut their own state education budgets without any accountability to the Australian people and the Australian taxpayers.

There is no mention from those opposite of the $7 billion that was set to flow to schools in years 5 and 6 of the Labor Gonski model, and which the coalition refuses to commit to. There is a massive difference between what they said before and what they are planning to deliver in government.

Clearly, Mr Abbott and his Pyne-occhio have lied to the Australian people on the future funding of our nation's schools by dismantling the equitable structure established under Labor and endorsed by a majority of state governments of both political stripes. Their complete contempt for the education of our 3.6 million schoolchildren—like their decision to renege on our nation's efforts to combat global warming currently on display—provides evidence that this is a government with no regard for Australia's future. It is all about what they can get away with under the cover of darkness with a sleight of hand—a little bit pulled here and a little bit put there; a whole lot pulled here and a little bit put there. This is tokenistic and, in fact, disgraceful treatment of the Australian people, as if they will not figure it out.

To dismantle our nation's first comprehensive response to climate change at the very time such a response is of paramount importance and urgency borders on criminal negligence. The bill that we are debating defies logic. It is akin to a firefighter throwing away the hose as the fire approaches. Such an act is simply unthinkable, but here we are with a government prepared to do it—to give up the future benefit of Australians for a short-term, self-interested political gain and a misrepresentation of reality. All the Wikipedia searches in the world by the Minister for the Environment could not convince even the simplest person of the reasoning behind the coalition's brazen act of national and international self-harm.

The coalition's arguments are so weak that they have systematically begun to dismantle the publicly funded sources of independent information on climate change in a vain attempt to hide their shame, lest somebody who really knows about what is going on alerts the public to the reality that the Liberals are trying to deny. They have abolished the Climate Commission—and saved the princely sum of $1.6 million a year—to silence the inconvenient truths emanating from the research of that august body of researchers. The commission's brief was very clear: to provide apolitical and reliable information for the public. That, it seems, was at odds with the coalition's desire to shut down informed debate. One thinks about these people who were giving apolitical and reliable information. I ask all Australians to think about the really fantastic kids in science in your class who filtered through into university and did science degrees, who were the top of their year at university and who have pursued with dedication careers in science research. They are the people whom this government refuses to listen to. They were the kids at the top of the class—you know who they are—and instead the government are listening to the lowest common denominator, those with loud voices and weak argument.

They have also gutted funding for the CSIRO, that august body that all Australians hold such regard for, and they are moving to abolish the Climate Change Authority and the Clean Energy Finance Corporation. These simply are not the actions of a government that considers climate change to be real; rather, they are the actions of climate sceptics, led by a climate sceptic Prime Minister, who is on the record as describing climate change as 'absolute crap'—such eloquence from the Prime Minister of Australia.

Recently, the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released its fifth assessment report, and its findings are sobering. The IPCC report finds:

Warming of the climate system is unequivocal, and since the 1950s, many of the observed changes are unprecedented over decades to millennia. The atmosphere and ocean have warmed, the amounts of snow and ice have diminished, sea level has risen, and the concentrations of greenhouse gases have increased.

…   …   …

Human influence on the climate system is clear. This is evident from the increasing greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere, positive radiative forcing, observed warming, and understanding of the climate system.

…   …   …

Continued emissions of greenhouse gases will cause further warming and changes in all components of the climate system.

I know what it is like to have pressure on a family budget. I know that reality. I was one of six children growing up in a family that started its own small business. It was tricky at the beginning—it was successful in the end, but it was difficult. As teachers, for my husband and I managing a budget on teachers' wages was not that easy with three kids. Things changed, but the reality is that, for a small amount of money that the government are saying may come back to Australians' households, they are ready to sell off the future of our children and our grandchildren. That is not a fair trade.

As an island known for its weather extremes and natural disasters, these findings should be ringing alarm bells. Indeed, the drumbeat of scientific findings such as these has been growing louder and louder for decades. The recognition of the need to act has reached a point where even the most strident climate sceptic publications have now begun, belatedly, it would seem, to acknowledge reality. Today, the consensus among climate scientists on the risk of global warming is in the order of 97 per cent. Effectively, the entire scientific community is in agreement. Global warming and climate change pose an existential threat. Late last year, New South Wales endured some of the earliest and most severe bushfires on record. The Philippines has been devastated by Typhoon Haiyan, killing thousands and destroying the lives and livelihoods of countless more. The people of Tuvalu, Kiribati, large areas of coastal Bangladesh and the Maldives may well be forced to evacuate their areas completely before the turn of this century, if not within the decade. These are just some examples, but, sadly, there are many, many others.

It seems the coalition, at both state and federal level, on receiving unpalatable advice about the serious threats posed by climate change, choose to deny its existence rather than accept the policy platform and action imperatives that the facts demand. Unlike the coalition, Labor recognises the importance for Australia to play its part in addressing this human induced crisis. We owe it to our forebears who built this great nation and, more importantly, to our children and grandchildren, who will inherit it, to respond. Under Labor, Australia did respond. We introduced a market based mechanism with a three-year fixed price, moving to a floating price thereafter. We set up the Clean Energy Finance Corporation to provide billions in low-interest loans to help companies open up new opportunities and invest in clean energy technology and infrastructure, with a positive benefit now in terms of jobs and innovation, leading to a long-term future benefit. We set up the Clean Technology Fund and the Carbon Farming Initiative to help manufacturers modernise for a low-carbon economy and support new low-emission farming practices.

We established the Climate Commission and the Climate Change Authority to provide critical independent advice on the effects of climate change and on Australia's reduction targets. We provided needed funding for the CSIRO to contribute to climate change research and develop new ways to cut carbon emissions. Labor's policies delivered strong leadership and vision, something that was needed to help reduce the risks posed by climate change. Our efforts recognised the need for Australia to act as well as the need for increased global cooperation, as evidenced by linking our carbon price to the European market.

Across the world, nations have implemented or are developing emissions trading schemes of various stripes. Ninety countries, accounting for more than 80 per cent of global emissions and over 90 per cent of the international economy, have now pledged to take action to mitigate climate change. The EU has operated an emissions trading scheme covering 30 countries since 2005. New Zealand has had an ETS in place since 2008. Our top five trading partners—the US, Japan, China, South Korea and India—have either implemented or are piloting carbon trading or pricing schemes at local, state and national levels. China is launching seven pilot emission trading schemes. Action on climate change through a market based response is clearly a global phenomenon as, the world over, nations work towards lowering carbon emissions through the most efficient means possible.

In Australia, one of the world's highest polluters per capita, which stands most threatened by climate change, an ETS has previously been embraced by both sides of politics. Even John Howard saw the good sense in doing so in 2007. Labor reached out to the government in good faith by agreeing to abolish the fixed price and move to an ETS one year earlier. But we will not let the Abbott government vandalise this nation's future. Labor will stand for Australians today and into the future. (Time expired)