Nick McKim (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is fair to say that things are pretty tough in Tasmania right now. We have 60 bushfires still burning, including 12 still burning inside the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage area. We have lost over 120,000 hectares of our beautiful island to these fires in the last six weeks, including over 20,000 hectares inside the World Heritage area

Hydro Tasmania's dams, the source of the overwhelming majority of our state's electricity generation, are currently at just 16 per cent capacity, and they are predicted to fall to 13 per cent within two months—far lower than ever before. The viability of our entire oyster industry is under threat from Pacific Oyster Mortality Syndrome, which can kill otherwise healthy oysters overnight. Each of these three issues represents a very different crisis facing my home state of Tasmania, but they have one thing in common: global warming.

Consider Climate futures for Tasmania, a technical report on water and catchments, which found:

Climate change is likely to reduce inflows to catchments used for hydro-electricity generation throughout the 21st century …

And consider climate futures for Tasmania general climate impacts report, which found:

Annually, there is a steadily emerging pattern of … reduced rainfall over central Tasmania …

  …   …   …

The central plateau district shows a steady decrease in rainfall in every season throughout the 21st century.

Clearly, the science is telling us there is going to be decreased rainfall in Hydro Tasmania's catchments throughout the 21st century and decreased rainfall on the central plateau, home to fragile, non-fire-adapted ecosystems, which, of anywhere on the planet, exist only in Tasmania. Some of these ecosystems were tragically lost in the recent fires. It is worth noting that most or all of these fires were started by dry lightning strikes on 13 January this year.

Australian Bureau of Meteorology scientific researcher Dr Andrew Dowdy said on dry lightning strikes and climate change: 'We've found that there's a good chance that there'll be more dry lightning in South Eastern Australia in summer in the future with climate change.' He went on to say: 'The bad news, I guess, continues that under climate change there's more severe fire weather days in general throughout much of Australia, so that further exacerbates the danger.'

So we can expect more extreme fire weather in Tasmania and more fire ignition events. In terms of our oyster industry, it is worth noting that the New South Wales Department of Primary Industries says that the evidence suggests that the disease is activated when water temperature reaches 22 degrees. We know that Tasmania's coastal waters have increased in temperature by around 0.8 degrees since the 1960s—more than three times the average global increase in water temperature—and we know that CSIRO models show that they will continue to warm into the future.

I say to Liberal politicians in Tasmania and to Liberal politicians in Canberra: if you cannot get your head around ecosystems working, if you cannot for the life of you understand the dangers of global warming in environmental terms, at least think about its economic impacts. It is like having to translate for someone who does not understand English or for a small child who is just learning to read—it is about jobs. The Tasmanian economy, like every other economy on the planet, is being threatened by global warming. Jobs are being lost right now. Major industrial electricity consumers are being power rationed right now in Tasmania. The government is panicking and has brought in 200 megawatts worth of diesel generation at a cost of $44 million and a further price of $22 million per month. This is global warning happening in front of our eyes.

Senator Bernardi interjecting—

If you cannot understand the environment, Senator Bernardi, it is about jobs. Do something!