2016-02-11
Mr BARBER (Northern Metropolitan) — This group in charge here, the Labor Party, has had four years in opposition and 14 months in government to develop a plan to fight global warming, but we are yet to see it — although I note the report of the review of the climate change act has just been tabled at this moment, and I look forward to reading it.
It should be pretty obvious that you cannot have the Paris agreement and continue to operate coal-fired power stations in Victoria in the way it has been done in the past, much less open new sources of polluting. Therefore it seems to me that what this government is trying to do — and it did it the last time that side was in government as well — is get as many polluting projects, be they transport based or energy based, on the way and approved before it then decides to come along and develop a climate change strategy.
[Speech was interrupted.]
Mr BARBER — I should also mention of course the continued logging of native forests — and the woodchipping and the burning — that is one of Victoria's biggest sources of emissions, which continues unabated under this government. This all shows that the Labor Party is just not serious. It is not an environmental party, and it never will be. It is only when we have the Greens holding the balance of power in this Parliament that you will start to see action from this or any other government.
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