John Murphy (Lowe, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I am very grateful to the member who says that they are working on it, because the science is in no doubt. For those odd members in the other place who are just very selective in looking at the temperatures of the globe over the last decade instead of looking at what has happened over the last 100 years against a background of the rising CO2 emissions, this is so disingenuous and clearly has no support from the rational scientists. The committee’s recommendations go on to make it clear that the government has to increase its investment in coastal based climate change research. Recommendation 4 states:

The Committee recommends that the coastal zone component of the National Climate Change Science Framework and proposed National Climate Change Science strategy be clearly identified by the proposed high level coordination group and involve key coastal stakeholders.

In recommendation 5 the committee goes on to recommend that the Department of Climate Change continue to fund research, which is so important, to establish the wave climate around the coasts so as to identify those locations most at risk from wave erosion and to examine how the wave climate nationally interacts with the varying landform types. The committee recommends at recommendation 6:

… that the Australian Government continue funding under the Climate Change Adaptation Skills for Professionals Program. In addition, the Australian Government should liaise with tertiary institutions to ensure an adequate supply of appropriately skilled coastal planners and engineers.

The committee recommends that the government establish a coastal zone research network with the National Climate Change Adaptation Research Facility, and that it complete a coastal zone research plan. Further, the committee recommended 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.

And that:

this study be carried out in conjunction with the Australian Local Government Association and the National Sea Change Taskforce.

This is terribly important. I do not really think that the local governments around our country understand the magnitude and the implications for them. At recommendation 11, the committee recommends:

… that the Australian Government establish a National Coastal Zone Database to improve access to and consistency of information relevant to coastal zone adaptation.

The report goes on with further very important recommendations. At recommendation 17:

The Committee recommends that the Department of Climate Change, in collaboration with the Queensland Government, CSIRO and Indigenous communities in the Torres Strait, undertake a major study into the vulnerability of the Torres Strait to the impacts of climate change and provide assistance in the development of an adaptation plan.

The committee, at recommendation 19, further recommends:

that the Australian Government request the Productivity Commission to undertake an inquiry into the projected impacts of climate change and related insurance matters, with a particular focus on:

and this is terribly important—

• 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 …
• the need for a clear definition of the circumstances under which an insurance claim is payable due to storm surge/inundation, landslip/erosion and sea level rise, as well as due to permanent submersion of some or all of the land …

This is a very substantial recommendation, and the Productivity Commission will certainly have its work cut out dealing with all that.

There is a further recommendation that requires the Building Code of Australia to employ cyclone building codes and revise them with the objective of increasing resilience to climate change. The report further states:

Noting the gap in research on legal issues and climate change impacts on the coastal zone, the Committee recommends that the Australian Government request that the Australian Law Reform Commission undertake an urgent inquiry into this area, with particular focus on—

the clarification of liability issues. And it goes on. Recommendation 26 states:

The Committee recommends that the Australian Government:

• expand the list of national priority areas identified under the Caring for our Country program to include climate change impacts on biodiversity

Recommendation 29 recommends that the Australian government:

• continue working with the Queensland Government and local councils under the existing Great Barrier Reef Intergovernmental Agreement to improve land use planning in the catchment

And further, very importantly:

The Committee recommends that the Australian Government urgently commission a detailed climate change vulnerability assessment for Kakadu National Park, in consultation with the park’s traditional owners and other stakeholders and drawing on the results of the ‘first pass’ National Coastal Vulnerability Assessment of the park.

Importantly, the committee recommends that the government:

… work through the Natural Resource Management Ministerial Council and in consultation with Birds Australia and other stakeholders to implement a National Shorebirds Protection Strategy.

And further, that the government also:

… work with the Natural Resource Management Ministerial Council and other stakeholders to develop an action plan to:

• ensure that coastal buffers, coastal habitat corridors and high ecological value areas are identified and included in Commonwealth, state and local government management processes

Time, the enemy, is going to beat me here. But I encourage anyone who is taking an interest in this to go through the whole 47 recommendations, because they are ample testament to how serious and important this issue is. As it says on page 1 of this report, ‘The time to act is now.’ This is a most important challenge facing our government and, indeed, the world.

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