Page 1186 - Week 04 - Tuesday, 2 April 2019
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It is unfortunate that too much discussion on climate is based on fiction or misplaced ideology by extremists ranging from climate change alarmists to climate change deniers. We can all recall Tim Flannery’s dire warning that Warragamba Dam would never be filled again—and for the record, it has been, regularly, since that prediction—and even today people use any and every bushfire, even when it has been started by a pyromaniac, as evidence that the planet is getting hotter. This sort of dialogue simply polarises people and prevents sensible, reasoned debate.
But can we do more: build more dams, conserve more water, develop more sustainable farming methods for future generations? Of course we can. Climate is changing—it always has—and, as global population expands, increasing pressure is put on our natural resources. That will impact even more on climate. How we prepare for it, how we ensure as individuals, as a territory and as a nation, to respond to it is critical.
The panic and alarmist policies of groups like the Greens to stop all coal mining now and shut down all coal-fired power stations immediately, to remove all fuelled cars and trucks, to stop livestock farming is not a plan for climate survival. It is a plan for economic ruin on a large scale.
Do we do nothing? Of course not but let us be sensible about what we can do and might do. As individuals we can reduce our reliance on our energy needs like air conditioning in summer and winter. Ms Le Couteur made mention in a recent speech of her need to have her air conditioner on all day. Perhaps she could lead by example. In winter we can put on warmer clothes, use wool blankets and doonas and hot-water bottles. We can stop draughts and install double glazing. All these tips are promoted by Actsmart and are sensible suggestions that can be easily adopted by each and every one of us.
We can continue to invest in renewable energy, as we have done in the ACT, and show leadership for our nation on a sustainable way forward but we must always be mindful of the need for it to be affordable and reliable so that our most vulnerable are not being unfairly disadvantaged at the cost of achieving a symbolic goal. We can buy cars suited to our needs, not our desires, and longer term we can adopt better and more sustainable housing. We can maximise the benefits of trees for both carbon and also temperature control and we can become more conscious of our own footprint on the planet. And, of course, our next big challenge is reducing emissions from transport. I thank Ms Le Couteur for reminding us all that we must all play a part in managing and protecting our planet.
MR STEEL (Murrumbidgee—Minister for City Services, Minister for Community Services and Facilities, Minister for Multicultural Affairs and Minister for Roads) (3.41): I am pleased to speak on this matter of public importance particularly in my role as Minister for Community Services and Facilities, which includes responsibilities for community recovery, a topic occasionally overlooked in the community during the debate about extreme weather events and climate change. I want to focus on that in my remarks today.
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