Jess Walsh (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Who is in charge of your climate plan this week in Canberra? Who is in charge of the government's climate policy? At the start of this week, everyone thought that it was the Deputy Prime Minister, Barnaby Joyce, actually leading the government's plan on net zero—to the complete horror, or course, of most Australians. But now what we hear from the government is that Mr Morrison is back. He's back in charge. But the question is: is he really back in charge? He's clearly not so much back in charge that he feels confident that he can take his plan for net zero emissions to his joint party room for sign off. He is not back in charge quite enough to even dream of legislating net zero emissions, because he cannot count on the members of his own government to vote for that plan. The Prime Minister is not in charge enough to keep the Nationals in his coalition government remotely in line. He's not in charge enough to stop his own Deputy Prime Minister from issuing threats: threats of 'a very hard time' for the government ahead. He is not in charge enough to stop the Nationals from issuing threats that things will 'get ugly', threats that were doubled down on by the Leader of the Nationals in the Senate today, when Senator McKenzie repeated these claims that things are going to get ugly in the government on climate change policy. The Prime Minister is not in charge enough to stop the threats to undermine harmonious government. He's not in charge enough to stop the threats to undermine cabinet solidarity coming from the members of his own team. He's not in charge enough to stop the threats of members of his own government to resign from that government. And the Prime Minister is not in charge enough of his resources minister, Mr Pitt, who still refuses to say that human induced climate change is actually real and actually happening.

All of this today, this complete mess, Senator Ruston describes as a respectful discussion. You would hate to see what a backroom brawl looks like for this coalition government if this is a respectful discussion. Perhaps the government should be more supportive of the Respectful Relationships program in our schools, and perhaps some of the members of the government should go back to school and take a few units of that course if they want to learn how to have respectful discussions. But apparently this is how it's done in the Morrison government today. This is how they deal with the biggest challenges that we'll face in our time. At 10 minutes to midnight, literally days away from Glasgow—days away from one of the biggest decisions this country will ever make—the people of Australia don't even know who is in charge of our climate action plan, just days away from COP26. The people of Australia don't know who is in charge of their jobs, of jobs for the future.

What the people of Australia do know is that their government are in complete meltdown at one of the most critical times in our country's history. They are a complete shambles, a complete stinking mess. They are a hot, steaming mess right now on one of the most important issues that our country faces. And all of that after eight years—eight years for a stinking mess at 10 minutes to midnight. That is the best that the Morrison government have. That is what they have to offer on one of the biggest challenges that we all face.

But, as we all know, and as Australians know, it's always too little, too late with Mr Morrison. It is Australia's workers who are paying the price, because there is a global race on right now to seize the opportunity that climate action provides us. But we know how the Prime Minister feels about races: he doesn't like to get into them too quickly. This is just another race that the Prime Minister is losing for our country, with absolutely catastrophic consequences.

This government is a complete stinking mess when it comes to action on climate, and a complete steaming mess when it comes to the jobs of the future that we should be embracing. (Time expired)

Question agreed to.