Peter Whish-Wilson (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

I've clearly touched a raw nerve with these senators tonight, which is always an interesting proposition. Obviously what concerns Senator Molan—through you, Acting Deputy President—is that climate change is the biggest threat to our national security. If you think about threats to livelihoods, threats to property, threats to our economy and threats to our communities—what bigger threat is there than our changing climate, our warming planet and our extreme weather events, be they the horrendous bushfires we've seen that are driven by this climate emergency, be they torrential floods, be they cyclones or be they the loss of our critical habitat, like on the Great Barrier Reef or in the giant kelp forests that the commercial fishing industry and communities in my home state of Tasmania are reliant on? That's the biggest threat to our national security. Don't just take my word for it; there are plenty of people and experts out there saying the same thing. I know you won't take my word for it, Senator Molan; I understand that. I don't think you'd take any scientists' word on climate change at its face value either, because you are a climate denier, Senator Molan, regardless of what you say. Perhaps a climate sceptic may be a more politically correct term to you.