Craig Thomson (Dobell, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

It is an honour to follow the member for Moore, who has worked so hard and so constructively across party lines on this report. A report can only be so important when it has that bipartisan support. If that does not happen, then the report is usually consigned to the dustbins of this parliament. The member for Moore worked very hard with the member for Throsby to make this report unanimous, and I think that is very important. It is also an honour to be speaking before the member for Lyons, who in parliament today asked a question on this report. I know that he has a deep concern about the effects of climate change on coastal New South Wales. He has his seat several seats above me, but we both share the same coast and many of the same problems.

I made two submissions to this inquiry. I was privileged to have the committee come and visit the seat of Dobell and the Central Coast. In fact, it was the first visit it made in relation to looking at how climate change affects the coast of Australia. That is an important thing, because the electorate of Dobell is greatly affected by climate change. It is a beautiful place, probably the most beautiful place in Australia, but unfortunately the environment is very fragile. We have a thin coastline with developments there. In the middle of the electorate there is a beautiful lake which is prone to flooding as it has access to the sea. An issue such as rising sea levels affects everyone on the Central Coast, particularly those in my electorate.

The report is also important because it creates national awareness of how climate change affects the places in which we live. We are engaged in a debate on this in the main chamber in which often the contributions are theoretical, with members talking about particular models, and very partisan in their approach. But this inquiry actually went out and visited places and in its report we find real people and real effects on real communities, so that is something else that this inquiry should be commended for. That is so important because it puts a human face on what is happening with climate change. It recognises the very real risks and threats to the areas of population on our coastlines which come from rising sea levels and storm events. Also, it pulls no punches about what needs to be done to tackle the issues.

While they were in my region the committee members heard that not too long before they visited there had been a major storm event which had caused extensive flooding across the region and serious erosion of the backyards of many oceanfront homes. They saw firsthand some of the erosion. In my second submission I was able to show the committee images of a subsequent storm event, which I will talk about shortly. The standing committee’s report has a large list of recommendations. There are in fact 47, covering the sorts of measures that we as a nation need to take to counter the major issues facing coastal communities. The overriding message is that we must act now, not later down the track but immediately. That is what this government is doing: acting now. We are acting on the wider issue of climate change, yet there are still those opposite who are living in denial.

When I walked along the beach at North Entrance earlier this year, inspecting the damage done by a major storm, the sorts of hazards that many of my constituents face by living so close to the ocean hit home for me. A whole street of homes had lost large chunks of their backyards. There were bits of fence overhanging the yards, concrete pathways sticking out, broken rails and trees uprooted along the fence lines. In the backyard of one of these houses a beautiful glass fence had been completely washed away. The residents had lost over four metres of their backyard because of this storm surge. Details of that particular storm surge were part of the supplementary submission that I made to the standing committee whose report I am referring to now.

This report is comprehensive and covers most of the country’s coastline. The recommendations are far-reaching and extensive as to what we must do to tackle the many issues facing coastal communities. Given that there are 47 recommendations, I will look at some of them as there is not enough time to go through all of them. Although I know the member for Fadden is riveted and wants me to go into greater detail, nevertheless I will restrict myself to just a few. Recommendation 2 states:

The Committee notes the importance of mitigation measures in addressing climate change impacts and accordingly recommends that the Australian Government continue to take urgent action to ensure that Australia can best contribute to a reduction in global greenhouse gas emissions.

That is what we are doing. I am among many members who have been involved today in the debate on the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme legislation in the House. It is time that the opposition supported this legislation. Time has run out, excuses have run out and we need to act on our climate—and this particular report recognises that. Another recommendation is:

… the Australian Government increase its investment in coastal based climate change research on:

• sea level rise projections and the dynamics of polar ice sheets, particularly in the Antarctic
• extreme sea level events, including as a result of storm surge and tropical cyclones
• regional variations in sea level rise—

and the effects that changes in the oceans will have on Australia’s coral reefs particularly in relation to—

higher ocean temperatures and changing ocean currents

It was great to see recommendation 5 of the committee, namely, that the Department of Climate Change continue to fund research on such topics as establishing the wave climate around the coast so as to identify locations most at risk from wave erosion. Proper research is essential, especially in places in my electorate such as the North Entrance which on two occasions in the last few years have been greatly eroded by storm surges.

Another positive recommendation is that the federal government continue funding under the Climate Change Adaptation Skills for Professionals Program. It was also recommended the Australian government liaise with tertiary institutions to ensure an adequate supply of appropriately skilled coastal planners and engineers. Recommendation 9 reads:

The Committee recommends that the Australian Government establish a coastal zone research network within the National Climate Change Adaptation Research Facility and that it complete a coastal zone research plan.

The committee also recommended the Australian government establish a national coastal zone database to improve access to and consistency of information relevant to coastal zone adaptation. I have been calling for better cooperation between councils and state government and federal government departments and agencies in tackling the issues associated with climate change for some time and in particular in this place on a number of occasions. I am glad to see the committee has recommended that this take place and that the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government undertake a study into the human and resourcing needs of local governments to effectively plan for and adapt to the impacts of climate change. I have also spoken frequently about disaster mitigation, especially since the June 2007 long weekend on the Central Coast which caused widespread flooding and damage and over a thousand people to be evacuated. The report states in recommendation14:

To further enhance Australia’s disaster mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery arrangements in the event of possible major coastal disasters, the Committee recommends that the Australian Government establish a grants program, the Coastal National Disaster Mitigation Program, to fund natural disaster mitigation projects in the Australian coastal zone.

The Committee also recommends that the Australian Emergency Management Committee … consider the following issues:

• improved data on coastal disaster risk assessment and vulnerable coastal sites
• improved access and evacuation routes for coastal communities;
• improved coastal community awareness of and resilience to natural disasters
• improved coordination of coastal disaster mitigation arrangements with other initiatives currently underway, such as reviews of the Australian Building Code and land use planning policies to take into account climate change impacts.

These are all important recommendations.

The surf lifesaving community on the Central Coast is a very strong community and it was good to see that the committee has made recommendations in relation to the role of surf lifesaving in the use of their network into emergency services preparedness, planning, and response systems and activities. I know that the good members who run Surf Lifesaving Central Coast, particularly Chad Griffith, who is the CEO there, will welcome this particular recommendation.

On the issue of insurance, the committee has recommended that the Australian government request the Productivity Commission to undertake an inquiry into the projected impacts of climate change and related insurance matters. Some of the focuses of this recommendation are:

• insurance coverage of coastal properties, given the concentration of Australia’s population and infrastructure along the coast
• estimates of the value of properties potentially exposed to this risk
• insurance affordability, availability and uptake
• existing and emerging gaps in insurance coverage, with a particular focus on coverage of coastal risks such as storm surge/inundation, landslip/erosion and sea level rise …

This is a very important thing for people who have properties by the sea and it needs to be addressed by the government. In the seat of Dobell there are three areas in particular that have been hard hit by storm surges. The beach at Wamberal has been washed away on a number of occasions, as have the beaches at North Entrance. These beaches have extensive development on them. The beach at the little cove at Cabbage Tree Bay, Norah Head, has been closed for over 18 months now because there are houses on the cliff tops that are literally falling into the bay as erosion has occurred due to storm surges. My electorate bears the full brunt of these storm surges on the coast, but it also bears the brunt of storm surges that come up through The Entrance and enter the Tuggerah Lakes system which, in 2007, caused extensive flooding inland around the lake where most of the population in my electorate lives. That resulted in over a thousand people having to be evacuated and moved and a massive coordination effort.

This report makes many recommendations in relation to our being prepared. It makes many recommendations in relation to action that we need to take to mitigate these natural disasters. It makes many recommendations as to why we need to act on climate change. This is a very important report that brings home to everyone who lives on the coast the need to act. We cannot put our heads in the sand and hope that this issue goes away. It is affecting our community now. The report should be commended and the recommendations should be endorsed.

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