Jenny McAllister (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister for Climate Change and Energy) Share this | Hansard source

I seek leave of the Senate to table this speech, which is a record from Hansard.

Leave granted.

No wonder it has taken a Labor government to land a climate policy and an energy policy. The previous government was so racked by division and dysfunction, so unable to agree amongst themselves, that nothing was ever able to be done, and the cost of that is being felt by the Australian people. It's being felt by an energy market that is experiencing real challenges. It's also the opportunity cost of the jobs in regional Australia, a part of Australia that the National Party claim to be so concerned about, for young people leaving school now which might have been developed in new industries or for the future that were stymied, not developed, because of inaction and uncertainty. Time after time business came before us and said, 'What we're looking for is certainty. What we're after is a clear policy that will let us make final investment decisions and let us plan for the transformation of our businesses to meet a low-carbon future.' So little of that was possible, so much of it impeded, by the chaos, division and dysfunction, and it's why the bill that's before us matters.

The amendment before the Chair from Senator Waters seeks to change the target. I don't think it will come as a surprise to Senator Waters that we will not be supporting this amendment, and I want to step through why. We have a mandate for the targets proposed in this bill. They are ambitious targets, and they are responsible targets. It's a policy we sought a mandate for during the election. We have talked about it after the election and consulted further with our community, and we will be sticking with that policy. It's a mandate we respect. It is a significant step up in our ambition. It is an achievable and responsible contribution to global efforts to keep to 1.5 degrees of warming.

The net zero by 2050 target is consistent with the Paris Agreement global temperature goal to hold the global temperature increase to well below two degrees and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1½ degrees. The bill does emphasise the importance of climate science. Its object clause refers to the temperature goals of the Paris Agreement. It requires that the Climate Change Authority's advice to the Minister for Climate Change and Energy on targets must explain how the targets have taken into account the matters set out in Article 2 of the Paris Agreement, including the global temperature goals.

As set out in clause 10 of the bill, this is a floor in Australia's emissions reduction ambition, and not a ceiling. Our aspiration is that the commitments of industry, states and territories and the Australian people will yield even greater emissions reductions in the coming decade. The Australian government outlined in its updated nationally determined contribution under Article 4 of the Paris Agreement, on 16 June 2022, that this is our approach. And, in addition, each successive target must be more ambitious than the last, as required by the Paris Agreement. The government must consider independent advice from the Climate Change Authority prior to making each new nationally determined contribution.

In concluding—and I expect Senator Waters wishes to make another contribution—I will just respond to her question about the way that the government deals with proposed projects in the oil, coal and gas sectors. Essentially, there are, as you have observed, a range of projects that proponents have flagged as possible projects in the future, and they are at different stages of development. As you all know, the economics of resource projects are changing. The projections that are developed by the Australian government are regularly updated. They incorporate the emissions associated with the anticipated demand for Australian exports, and that is something that is updated on a regular basis.