Tony Sheldon (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

[by video link] The Sixth assessment report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is very clear. It's clear about the impact that years of Liberal-National government inaction on climate policy is having on Australia.

According to the IPCC, Australia has already warmed by 1.4 degrees Celsius since 1910. Heat extremes have increased and cold extremes have decreased, and these trends are projected to continue. The frequency of extreme fire weather days has increased and the fire season has become longer in many, many locations around this country and around the world. The intensity, frequency and duration of fire weather events are projected to increase throughout Australia. And, of course, we're already seeing the consequences of inaction on climate. We lived through the black summer bushfires, which ravaged so much of New South Wales and other parts of Australia. Months before the black summer bushfires, a group of 23 former fire chiefs and other emergency services leaders tried to meet with the Prime Minister to raise their concerns. Mr Morrison refused to meet with them. Then, as Australia burned, Mr Morrison went on holiday to Hawaii. As the bushfires continued to ravage Australia, he was finally forced to cut his holiday short. When he did return, he griped that he 'doesn't hold a hose, mate'. The verdict is in. The failure of the Morrison government and the Liberal-National governments before it to take any action have condemned Australia to future bushfire seasons like the 'black summer'.

It's a great shame because, as the world moves rapidly towards renewable energy, we have a once-in-a-generation opportunity for Australia to jump ahead of the pack. Australia's abundant natural resources—wind, solar, hydrogen and gas—represent an incredible additional export opportunity for the Australian economy. A federal government which actually backs our local energy sector with investment and policy certainty could create thousands of good-paying jobs, while making power cheaper for homes and businesses alike. Instead, we have the absurd situation, as the Australian Workers Union has highlighted, where Australians are paying more for our own gas than we charge customers overseas. This is the energy policy legacy of the Morrison government.

Australia needs a government that gives the energy sector the policy certainty to invest. After eight years of Liberal government, we still don't know what their 2050 target is. Every state and territory government, Labor and Liberal alike, and all leading businesses, industry and agriculture groups are united in committing to net zero by at least 2050. The only major organisation left in Australia opposing this position is the Morrison government. Without a target, the Morrison government does not have a plan. It is just floundering around. They don't have any answers for coalmining workers, either. The Morrison government dares to pretend that it's looking out for them while it comes to Canberra to pass legislation to support labour hire firms that are driving down the pay and conditions of mine workers. And the Morrison government spends $300,000 supporting WorkPac in the High Court in a case against one of their exploited casual employees. The truth is that the Morrison government is not on the side of mine workers; Mr Morrison and the rest of this sorry government are only here to represent themselves.

The truth is that the world's climate emergency is Australia's job opportunity. Renewables jobs are important to us. It's important to us to make sure that they work, because, quite clearly, we have an opportunity to turn around and engage nearly 27,000 extra workers—and an expected 45,000 by the year 2035—yet the Liberal-National government has failed to give rights to those workers. One of the reports talks about sharing the benefits with workers. We're not getting lower energy prices, and workers aren't getting the benefit. The report talks about the fact that these jobs are insecure jobs because of the way that they're arranged under this government. (Time expired)