Nita Green (Queensland, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I am very pleased to be addressing the Senate today not only in my role as a senator for Queensland and not only as someone who has long argued for climate action but also in my new position as the Special Envoy for the Great Barrier Reef. As someone who lives in Cairns, I understand more than most people how important it is for us to protect the Great Barrier Reef and to make sure that we not only have this asset to enjoy for many generations to come but also to protect the jobs that the reef relies on.

In taking up this role as the Special Envoy for the Great Barrier Reef, there are a number of issues that I am keen to address and a number of issues that I am keen to talk to many stakeholders about. Since being appointed to the role, I have had the opportunity to speak to conservation groups, tourism operators, agricultural leaders and also, of course, traditional owners, who in this space are doing fantastic work.

Australians made a clear choice on 21 May. They are ready for action on climate change, and they are ready for a Labor government to deliver it. In all of the conversations that I have had with people around the Great Barrier Reef in this role as the special reef envoy, it has been clear to me that people are incredibly hopeful for the future now that there has been a change of government. They are incredibly hopeful about the plans that Labor has put in place and the things that we have said that we will do to take action on climate change and to protect the Great Barrier Reef.

Today our government has taken one of those very important steps. We have introduced legislation to take action on climate change, to make sure that this bill does what the previous government failed to do over a decade in power. I am very proud to be here today as part of this government and as the Special Envoy for the Great Barrier Reef as we send a very clear message that the time for action on climate change is now. The stability and certainty that is going to come from legislating this target is clear for all Australians to see, and it is important for Australians and their future.

Our government will not waste the opportunities that come with climate action. As Senator Wong said today in question time, this not only is a matter of protecting our environment but also is an economic question and is about the jobs that come from investing in renewable energy. The previous government were so opposed to taking action on climate change that they vetoed renewable energy projects because it was against their own policy; they tried to take the 'R' out of ARENA; and they are still actively standing against climate change. Our government will not be one of inaction and waste when it comes to this important issue. That is why we will deliver on our mandate of a 43 per cent target.

Today the Albanese Labor government introduced the Climate Change Bill 2022, enshrining 43 per cent emissions reductions into law. This puts us on track to reach net zero by 2050 and restores our international reputation as a responsible global citizen. This legislation brings much needed certainty to workers, businesses and communities as our energy needs change. We are prepared to reap the benefits of renewable energy future. Today, Labor restored accountability and certainty in Australia's climate approach. The Minister for Climate Change and Energy will now be required to report our progress to the parliament, making sure that we are being transparent and ambitious when we strive to reach net zero.

This legislation represents a hard-fought consensus on climate change amongst Australians. It has the support of business associations, unions, environmental groups and community organisations. As the Minister for Climate Change and Energy has said, this is a critical first step and the experts will continue to inform our approach to targets moving forward. This is the first step, a step that Australians have waited so long to see taken, and we are taking this step as a government now. The legislation will enshrine a nationally determined contribution of 43 per cent emissions. As I said, it will task the Climate Change Authority to provide advice on Australia's progress against these targets. It will require the minister to report annually to parliament on the progress and it will, finally, in other legislation, reinsert the renewables component into ARENA.

This is on top of Labor's plan to power Australia. It complements our plan to create jobs, cut power bills and reduce emissions through our Powering Australia plan. Labor's plan will upgrade the electricity grid, make electric vehicles cheaper and invest in green manufacturing. The Powering Australia plan will deliver over 600,000 jobs across the country, with five out of six of those jobs created in regional Australia. It will cut power bills for families and businesses as we take advantage of Australia's vast natural resources. Our Powering Australia plan is another example of Labor's ambitious and resourceful approach when we are taking on the challenge of climate change. We won't bury our heads in the sand. We know that this is complex. We know that there are issues that we need to see through. We won't see them through a singular lens. Labor takes up the challenge and finds ways to solve this issue and deliver real social and economic returns for the Australian people.

This is in direct contrast to the last decade of denial and delay. It is clear that, under the former government, Australians had lost hope. They had lost hope. After a decade of chaos on renewable energy, Labor's Climate Change Bill will finally give the certainty so desperately needed for businesses, industry, energy investors and the wider community. In my community of regional Queensland, we have seen hundreds of jobs evaporate as a result of the disunity within the previous government on climate change, and I note this disunity continues in the opposition. They are obviously being given an opportunity to join the government to vote for our legislation. They've indicated that they will not be doing that, although I know that the disunity continues within the opposition. It really begs the question about who and what the opposition has been listening to, and clearly they didn't hear the message from the Australian people at the last election.

There are real and serious consequences from the previous government's actions that Labor is just now having the opportunity to start cleaning up, and we will work with people across this chamber to achieve outcomes for all Australians. We will work with people who want to see climate action put into reality. We will be constructive, but the Australian people know what Labor took to the last election. They understand that plan that we have, the Powering Australia plan. They understand that we have a commitment to a 43 per cent target. They understand that that was not a target or a number plucked out of thin air but was something that we put together by understanding, through independent modelling, what levers the government could pull and what emissions reductions we could achieve if we pull those levers. This is something that we have taken to the Australian people, and now, as a government, we are planning to legislate these targets. It is an opportunity, I think, for this parliament to rise above the divisive politics of the climate wars under the previous government. Under the former government we saw climate wars deliver nothing but political debate in this space, and we know there are people in this chamber who need to understand that we are here to deliver on our election commitments. We are here to listen and we will be constructive, and I think we have been constructive when it comes to the negotiations on the legislation. But we have a very clear mandate. We have a very clear agenda, and we are delivering on that agenda.

When it comes to climate change, every time I'm on my feet in this place I continue to remind the chamber that there are people in our country in Queensland right now who are feeling the effects of climate change. Along with the Minister for Climate Change and Energy and the Assistant Minister for Climate Change and Energy, Senator McAllister, I had the opportunity to go to the Torres Strait a few weeks ago. We sat down with those community members, and it was a real honour to listen to them directly and to see the changes that are happening—the coastal erosion. It really begs the question: if any person from the other side of the chamber could hear those personal stories, could see that coastal erosion occurring and could still choose to think that this is not a place where we need to get down and get the work done on climate change, then I don't understand what they are here for. What we've got from the opposition so far is more denials, more diversion and more debate and delay. But this government, a Labor government, is getting on with the job, and that is why we have put this legislation to the parliament. We'll give the parliament an opportunity to discuss that legislation, to talk about the value of acting on climate change, but we will get this done, and, if the parliament does not legislate the target, we will still set about achieving the things that we promised the Australian people, because the time to do that is now.