Karen Grogan (SA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Listening to those opposite speaking on this MPI is quite spectacular—their dedication over the last 20 minutes to science compared to their lack of any form of dedication or commitment to science over the last nine years when they were in government. This is just a stunt. Their history tells us that they have no credibility in this space. They undermined any form of climate action, saying, 'Question the science,' every single time. 'Question the science.' They repealed the climate policies that were in place; joked about our Pacific island neighbours going under water, as if that's funny; sabotaged the Murray-Darling Basin Plan; hid the State of the environment report; refused to act on the critical Samuel review; tried 22 different energy policies, failed—nothing, nada. Nothing happened there at all. And they voted against the safeguard mechanism et cetera. I could go on.

Just to be clear, echoing the words of Senator Brown, there are no cuts to the Antarctic Division. The fact is the budget is going up every year for the next three years. We are working very hard to clean up the mess left behind by the Liberals, by the coalition government, that, over a lengthy and painful nine years, put the Antarctic program into a whole lot of distress. It was so badly managed. Our priority, the Albanese Labor government's priority, is to support critical science, to support permanent jobs, especially in Tasmania. Australia has been a global leader in the Antarctic, ensuring that all Antarctic activities remain consistent with the principles of peace, science and environmental protection. That's where we're at. The sad truth is that the program, previously, was irresponsibly managed, and that leaves our program of critical science at risk. Our scientists are doing terrific research—the Denman Glacier, the million-year ice core, the ice cap, greenhouse gases in the southern atmosphere and so much more. This is essential work, and it's essential work that is based out of Tasmania.

While the coalition, the Liberals and Nationals, on those benches opposite were in government, they were unable to reach any form of unanimous decision that climate change is real. Yet, such a significant amount of the research that we have going on in the Antarctic is about just that. We are seeing warming, and that has a profound impact on the Antarctic.

The minister has been given clear assurances by the Australian Antarctic Division that there is no plan for redundancies, that a number of contractors are going to be transitioning into secure permanent jobs and that the critical science is going to continue. Senator Brown has already said in this debate that she has spoken to the CPSU and has confirmed some of these issues. Just to be clear, in 2022-23 we spent over $32 million delivering Antarctic science, which was an increase from the 2021-22 year. The last season in the Antarctic set some amazing groundwork for the programs that will be delivered in the next few years. This season we will see a couple of critical pieces of work—some critical work at the Bunger Hills and also the 2.8 kilometre drill down to collect ice cores that are more than a million years old. Scientists will test the tiny air bubbles trapped in the ice so their studies can continue, and we can learn more and develop more in terms of where we are at and what's happening in the Antarctic. Our Antarctic Division does incredible work, and Australia has long played a critical leadership role in the Antarctic, and that will continue. Nothing is going to stop.