PRIVATE MEMBERS' BUSINESS
Ms WITTY (Melbourne) (11:03): Climate change and the effects it has on our country and the planet is something none of us can turn our attention from. We as a parliament must continue to deliver policies and legislation that tackle the seriousness of this issue. In my community of Melbourne, the calls for climate action have been loud and clear.
There is real ambition and drive in the people I represent. Recently, in one of my environmental reference groups, I heard directly from passionate people on the legislation passed by this government. The message was crystal clear: they want us to succeed.
People want renewable energy infrastructure built, emissions to come down and our natural environment protected, and they want this government to make the big decisions needed to get us there. As we continue this work, I bring Melbourne's voices loud and clear into the room of government, not just shouting from the sidelines, and I will continue to advocate on behalf of my community about where this government goes next and what more I can deliver.
There has been real change in this country since Labor came to government. One of our first acts in government was to legislate an ambitious 43 per cent emissions reduction target for 2030 and net zero by 2050—and, yes, it can be done. Last year, following the independent advice of the Climate Change Authority, this government set a 2035 target to reduce emissions by 62 to 70 per cent.
Since May 2022, more than 25 gigawatts of wind and solar capacity has been added to the grid. That additional capacity is more than four times the capacity of the Snowy Hydro scheme, and Labor is backing the next stage of that transition. Another $2 billion is going into the Clean Energy Finance Corporation to help accelerate renewable projects around the country and continue putting downward pressure on electricity prices.
A new $5 billion net zero fund, through the National Reconstruction Fund, will help larger industrial facilities decarbonise while scaling up renewable energy and lower-emissions manufacturing in Australia. Australians can also see part of this transition happening on their roofs and in their homes. More than one in three Australian households already have rooftop solar, and Labor's Cheaper Home Batteries Program has now supported more than half a million battery installations.
Families are now storing the clean solar energy they produce during the day and using it where they need it more. While this transition continues to take place, there is another responsibility facing government. The climate has already changed, and Australia needs to be prepared for the consequences.
Last year, the Albanese Labor government released Australia's first national climate risk assessment. It drew together work from some of the best expertise Australia has, including the CSIRO, the Bureau of Meteorology, the ABS and Geoscience Australia. No Australian community will be immune from climate risk.
The effects will reach our health, our infrastructure, our economy and, of course, our natural environment. Labor commissioned that important assessment because good government needs good science behind the decisions it makes, and it has been followed by Australia's first National Adaptation Plan. To date, this government has committed $3.6 billion to preparing for climate change and building resilience alongside around $9 billion in policies and programs that support these efforts.
The $1 billion Disaster Ready Fund is supporting projects that reduce disaster risk and help communities prepare. Australia now has its first National Health and Climate Strategy. The government is working with insurers through the hazard insurance partnerships and with states, territories and local governments on the next stage of the National Adaptation Plan.
When you put that work together, you can see how far Australia has moved. Australians elected a Labor government that accepts the science, understands the scale of the job and is prepared to use government to get things done. For the people I represent in Melbourne, the work could not be more critical.
They want this transition to succeed. They want Australia to keep going, to keep building renewable energies to keep emissions down— (Time expired)