MINISTERIAL STATEMENT: Climate Change

Hon. MAJ SCANLON (Gaven—ALP) (Minister for the Environment and the Great Barrier Reef
and Minister for Science and Youth Affairs) (10.09 am):

It has been an interesting start to the week, with Australians waking up to find the front of newspapers across the country calling for action on climate change. While it may be a little later than some would have liked, it is good to see because seizing the economic opportunities that come with action on climate change will mean more jobs in more industries.

Unfortunately, we have not yet seen the same change of heart from the federal government. After
eight long years of the Morrison-Turnbull-Abbott government, we are still asking: will Australia finally
commit to net zero emissions by 2050? Scotty doesn’t know. Even worse than that, does the federal
government even have a plan for renewable investment and jobs in Queensland? Will the Prime
Minister call out people in his own party who continue to spread anti climate change propaganda? We
need national leadership on net zero emissions, yet we get zero leadership and zero action from Scott
Morrison and the LNP. No wonder he does not want to go to Glasgow next month. I am hardly the
biggest monarchist in this House, but I do agree with Prince Charles that Scott Morrison should front
up to COP.

Every state and territory in this country has signed up for net zero emissions targets by 2050,
and Queensland is taking action with a $2 billion renewable energy fund, $500 million Land Restoration
Fund and a blueprint for jobs and action on climate change. On Sunday we announced that Central
Queensland would become the home of the world’s largest hydrogen equipment facility as part of our
economic recovery plan. That is more jobs in more industries through cheaper, cleaner energy.

Australia seems to be the only remaining country to not commit to net zero. In fact, for the
convenience of the House, I will table a helpful visual to show just how almost every other country
across the board has signed up to net zero emissions targets.

Tabled paper: Chart titled ‘Race to Net Zero: Carbon Neutral Goals by Country’ 1707.

There is the US, Canada, South Korea, Spain, France, South Africa, Switzerland and our
neighbours in New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Micronesia, Fiji and Samoa. Even countries like
Barbados, Latvia, Rwanda and Uzbekistan are ahead of us. It is embarrassing, but what do you expect
from a guy who said that electric vehicles would somehow end the weekend?
Scott Morrison and his LNP colleagues have had almost a decade to take action on climate
change and position Australia as an economic and jobs powerhouse when it comes to renewable
energy. Instead, they have spent their time talking down hardworking Australian and international
scientists and the consensus on the impact of climate change. They have labelled climate action and
the jobs they can bring as ‘a scam’, ‘a distraction’ and as ‘something for the false gods’.

The jig is up. Queenslanders are seeing through the Morrison government’s cheap marketing
tactics and politicking. They know that through ongoing action, like our $2 billion renewable energy fund,
Queensland has the potential to create thousands of jobs in a low-carbon economy—the most of any state in the country in fact, as leading research provides. They have had eight years to take action and,
instead, they have spent their time denying the science and attacking Labor’s climate policies and jobs
policies. Only a Palaszczuk Labor government and an Albanese-led federal government can be trusted
to create more jobs in more industries while lowering our emissions and meeting our targets.