Last year we went from bushfires, from 12 million hectares of Australia burning, dozens of lives lost and over a billion animals killed, straight into a global pandemic.
We’ve been living with a huge amount of uncertainty. And this can feel really overwhelming and scary. Some fear is probably an appropriate response. Fear about what the future will hold and how we can look after ourselves and our families. Fear about what sort of world we’re walking into.
While we’ve seen uncertainty and fear, we’ve also seen just how capable humans are when we put our minds to something. We’ve seen what we can do when we listen to experts and make decisions that are in the interests of everyone in our society, not just a select few.
We are capable of extraordinary things when we have the courage to act. And right now, we need courage when it comes to action on climate change.
We have to act now and we have to act fast. Experts are telling us that.
We can act now by ditching the gas led recovery, and instead investing in a just transition to renewables and the decarbonisation of our economy. We can set clear, ambitious targets and develop a roadmap of how to get there.
We can act to look after the people and places we love. Our families. Our farmers. Our forests. Our wildlife. The Great Barrier Reef.
Like so many other immigrants, I have fallen in love with this amazing continent. It is a true privilege to call it home. Home to the world’s oldest living cultures and full of so much natural wonder, none more so perhaps than the Great Barrier Reef. If we fail to act now we will lose the reef. Scientists are telling us that. Scientists are imploring us to act now.
The great barrier reef, a wonder of the world, will die. We’ll be the generation that stood by and allowed the reef to die. Actually, it's not that we’re allowing the reef to die, we’re killing it with inaction. What does it mean for us as a country if we are willing to stand by and watch this happen? We should be doing everything we can and showing global leadership to save the reef.
Looking after the reef means saying no to a gas led recovery.
As the son of a farmer I was horrified to see government data showing farm profits are down 22% since 2000 due to the impacts of climate change. Our farmers are already struggling with the impacts of a changing climate. Yet the same government that produced this data has approved coal mines on prime agricultural land, given Santos the green light for their massive gas project in the Pilliga and wants to open up the Northern Territory to fracking.
Looking after farmers means saying no to a gas led recovery.
This home that we love so much is on fire and is struggling to cope. Our home is on fire and we’re subsidising fossil fuel projects.
But we can tell a different story.
We are better than a gas led recovery. We can change course. And we must change course.
We have seen with Covid that we can listen to the experts. We can take strong, decisive action to protect ourselves, our communities, and our future. We can make decisions that are in the interests of all of us.
We are facing an even greater challenge than covid in the climate and biodiversity crises. Thankfully we have experts, like Will Steffen here today and many others, who have dedicated their lives to understanding problems like these and how to solve them.
We already have the technology, the natural resources, the know-how to get the job done. Scientists are telling us this.
We have a narrow window to act. We have to act now. Scientists are telling us this too.
This could be a huge threat or a massive opportunity for us as a country, it’s our choice. We need bold climate action now ‘to save lives, and livelihoods as well.’
We all stand to benefit in the long term from bold action on climate change. This shouldn’t be about which side of politics you’re on - whether you’re on this team or that team.
This is about all of us and what our futures will be.
We must demand our government spend our money in ways that will create jobs and create the Australia we all want.
We can face this challenge together and we must face this challenge together.
We must say NO to a gas led recovery and say YES to a better future for all Australians.
Image: NCA NewsWire/Gary Ramage