Page 247 - Week 02 - Wednesday, 7 March 2007
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the science was always there. The media have now caught up with us and we are now seeing people like John Howard and the other usual suspects—unfortunately, increasingly the state leaders—trying to spin their meagre reactions because they know people want something to happen.
But this is not an issue that spin will fix; this is an issue that involves real commitment from governments and, at the very least, it requires a climate change strategy from this government. If it has not appeared because the Office of Sustainability has been gutted, let us hear about that today. I have already seen the foreshadowed amendment. Admittedly there were problems with it, which I identified, and I assume that they have been fixed in this second version.
Mr Mulcahy: That is my amendment.
DR FOSKEY: Okay, we have two amendments now. If they underplay the importance of this issue I will be extremely disappointed. Not only that, the people of Canberra will have been let down entirely on probably the biggest issue that faces us now. We can talk about bushfires until the cows come home, but we will be having more bushfires under climate change. We cannot wreck the environment in order to avoid that one; we have to work out how to be the clever capital that we are. I believe it is obvious that everyone has to be involved. The climate change issue has the potential to be a tragedy of the commons with all the problems of free riders.
We know that the rich think that they can protect themselves in their airconditioned houses on the hill while the rest of us swelter down in the valleys, but that is not good enough for me. We have to have a solution that has equity written into every bit of it. We need to seek innovative approaches to new problems. Government will need to facilitate the means of sharing, because the market does not play fair. People are ready, they want to reduce their harm to the planet, but they need the government to set in place the framework to help them do so. (Time expired.)
MR HARGREAVES (Brindabella—Minister for the Territory and Municipal Services, Minister for Housing and Minister for Multicultural Affairs) (10.48): I thank Dr Foskey for bringing the matter before the Assembly and I acknowledge her passion for the subject, which was amply demonstrated by the tenor of her delivery. I hope she calms down enough to stay with us and enjoy the rest of the debate so entertainingly commenced by her.
Dr Foskey asked the Assembly to note “the threats of climate change” and “the failure of the Howard government to ratify the Kyoto Protocol”. The government is happy to note both matters. Rising greenhouse emissions pose a significant threat to the social, environmental and economic welfare of ACT citizens, present and future. Even small changes in global temperature have been shown potentially to affect our way of life, increasing the severity of droughts and storms, threatening ecosystems and shifting disease patterns. The ACT will be affected by climate change and should prepare for our future to ensure that we remain a strong and sustainable community.
The ACT is likely to become warmer, with more hot days and fewer cold nights. There is a real potential for an increase in heat-related deaths, particularly in our older population. There is also the potential for higher temperatures to contribute to the
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