Page 1106 - Week 04 - Tuesday, 28 March 2017
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$3.1 billion to the economy. The loss of this industry of course would be terrible for the economies of Queensland and Australia but there will also be countless individuals and families impacted: the people who run the many businesses, large and small, and who have invested in that business, such as buying boats and other equipment, and of course all the people whom they employ.
The Great Barrier Reef is just one example of what is at stake when it comes to taking action on climate change. This amazing natural wonder is literally dying before our eyes because of the failure to mitigate climate change, to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions, to decarbonise and to stop using polluting fossil fuels. And this is only one of countless serious environmental, health and economic consequences that we are likely to experience if we fail to mitigate climate change.
Yet at the same time as the reef suffers the federal government and the Queensland government take irresponsible and unconscionable decisions such as supporting the proposed giant Carmichael open-cut mine in the Galilee basin in Queensland. This is essentially an act that says, “We are happy to condemn the Great Barrier Reef to death and we don’t care.”
The impacts of climate change are severe, and the need to act is urgent. Initiatives like the climate action round table are just one of the many actions that we can take at the local level and that we need to translate into real and prioritised actions. My priority as the climate change minister is to ensure that climate mitigation and adaptation are foremost on this government’s agenda and that we play a strong leadership role in addressing the climate change threats that are facing both the ACT and the planet as a whole.
I present the following paper:
Climate Action Roundtable—Ministerial statement, 28 March 2017.
I move:
That the Assembly take note of the paper.
Question resolved in the affirmative.
Implementation of the children and young people’s commitment 2015-2025
Ministerial statement
MS STEPHEN-SMITH (Kurrajong—Minister for Community Services and Social Inclusion, Minister for Disability, Children and Youth, Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs, Minister for Multicultural Affairs and Minister for Workplace Safety and Industrial Relations) (10.42): Madam Speaker, I thank you for the opportunity to provide the Assembly with a progress update on the implementation of the ACT children and young people’s commitment 2015-2025. The commitment is a high-level strategic document that sets the vision for a
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