Peter Whish-Wilson (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Before moving general business notice of motion No. 589, I ask that the names of Senators Bilyk, Brown, Polley and Urquhart be added to the motion. I, and also on behalf of Senators Rice, Bilyk, Brown, Polley and Urquhart, move:

That the Senate—

(a) notes that:

(i) in August 2017, the Department of the Environment and Energy commissioned Mr Drew Clarke AO PSM FTSE to undertake a review of the governance arrangements supporting the Australian Antarctic Science Program and to provide advice on a new governance model (the Clarke Review),

(ii) in December 2017, the Clarke Review recommended institutionalising long-term collaborative science and ensuring coherent science leadership,

(iii) in April 2020, the Federal Government announced $56 million for a new Australian Research Council Special Research Initiative in Excellence in Antarctic Science,

(iv) the University of Tasmania will receive $20 million over three years, a figure significantly lower than expected and which does not support a clear, long-term scientific research agenda for Australia's Antarctic and Southern Ocean science programs,

(v) Tasmania is recognised as Australia's Antarctic gateway and is a global hub for Antarctic science, and

(vi) long-term monitoring and research is critical to climate science, in particular, to the Antarctic and Southern Ocean, having a significant impact on the global climate system; and 

(b) calls on the Federal Government to:

(i) increase overall investment in climate science research capability,

(ii) adopt a funding scheme that supports a clear, long-term scientific research agenda,

(iii) act on the Clarke Review recommendations, and

(iv) immediately provide funding certainty and continuity to Southern Ocean, Antarctic and climate research.

Jonathon Duniam (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Forestry and Fisheries) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I seek leave to make a short statement.

Scott Ryan (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Leave is granted for one minute.

Jonathon Duniam (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Forestry and Fisheries) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The coalition government's long-term commitment to Antarctica is underpinned by an unprecedented $2.8 billion investment. The Australian Research Council's Special Research Initiative in Excellence in Antarctic Science, worth $56 million over seven years, was launched in June 2018. The ARC conducted a competitive grants application process and recommended a project at Monash University for funding through the SRI. Having accepted that recommendation, the Minister for Education instructed the ARC to provide the remaining funds to the University of Tasmania, whose application was ranked second by the ARC.

Malcolm Roberts (Queensland, Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I seek leave to make a short statement.

Scott Ryan (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Leave is granted for one minute.

Malcolm Roberts (Queensland, Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

One Nation will not be supporting this motion. The Antarctic is a largely untouched and entirely spectacular natural wonder which needs and deserves proper scientific investigation and research. Every dollar wasted on researching claimed human-caused climate change in the Antarctic steals research grants from genuine geologists, palaeoclimatologists, biologists, glaciologists and other scientists doing real scientific investigations. This chamber is the house of review. When will the Senate demand a review of the science into claims of human-induced climate change that has taxpayers paying billions of dollars a year with no environmental or economic benefits? Today is day 278 since I first challenged the Greens and Senators Di Natale and Waters to provide the empirical data and framework proving that carbon dioxide from human activity affects climate and needs to be cut and to debate me on climate science and on the corruption of climate science.

Question agreed to.