Jenny McAllister (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That the Senate take note of the document.

I rise to speak on the document tabled titled Australia's emissions projections 2016. This document makes for sobering reading. I think we can assume that the department will have done their best with the data before them to make the case that the policies presently being deployed in relation to climate are, in some way, effective. But, despite that, the projections show that emissions are still increasing up until 2030. To state the obvious, there is no way that that is consistent with Australia making a meaningful impact on climate change and making a contribution that is consistent with our global agreements.

Just last night, the Minister for the Environment and Energy admitted that his government has given up on us meeting our commitments under the Paris agreement, specifically the commitment that we approach net zero emissions by 2050. He has lowered the bar substantially, saying that to get to zero emissions over the course of this century would be a good achievement. Well, nice try, Minister. Self-assessment: good achievement. Move the goalposts. It just does not cut it. The scientific evidence is very clear that we need to make much greater progress and have much more ambitious targets for emissions reduction by mid-century if we are to have any hope of keeping our temperature well below two degrees above pre-industrial levels.

The problem, of course, is the complete vacuum of policy. The document, in a small-font dot point, says that the projections do not include any policy decisions that might be taken to have effect after 2020. Of course, we all know why that is. That is because there is no policy on climate change after 2020. That is why, when you ask departmental officials in committee hearings, as I have, 'When will Australian emissions peak?' they say, 'Oh, well, that's a very good question, Senator.' It is quite embarrassing. I was embarrassed for them, because it must be most awkward to be a public servant who understands what a properly designed government policy looks like and to be in the position of implementing something that has absolutely no relation to the targets that the government has supposedly adopted—and very weak targets at that.

As we have seen in recent months, the lack of policy is also causing very real and very immediate problems in terms of our energy system. We know that retail prices in energy are expected to rise in the coming months. What everyone in the sector is telling us is that it is because there is no investment certainty. The National Energy Market is designed to allow prices to rise. When prices hit a certain level, the idea is that investors will flood into the market to build new capacity. Why are they not flooding the market at this point, when price projections are there that would ordinarily sustain new investment? They tell us, in the clearest possible terms, that they are not investing, because of the lack of policy certainty under this government. You could not get a clearer message from business that what is needed to resolve our energy crisis is action on climate change.

This is the moment we ought to seize. We have the most amazing opportunity. Our existing fleet is ageing, and that causes us challenges. Our existing energy generation needs to be replaced. This would happen irrespective of climate change but, given that it is happening, it presents a golden opportunity for us to step up and build an energy system that is consistent with our climate obligations, consistent with a low-carbon future and consistent with our objective of providing a secure and affordable energy supply to Australians. It is to the great shame of this government that their budget this evening, and their actions this year, are unlikely to produce anything like it.

Question agreed to.