Peter Dutton’s responses on climate change in last night’s leaders’ debate, along with a string of climate damaging policies, reveal the Coalition is out of touch on a major issue affecting voters’ lives, the Australian Conservation Foundation said.
“It’s a serious concern that one of the candidates vying to be Australia’s prime minister is unwilling to stand up and say climate change is real, is happening and is affecting Australia,” said ACF CEO Kelly O’Shanassy.
“For Mr Dutton to fall back on the old climate deniers’ line – I’m not a scientist – in last night’s leaders’ debate was deeply disturbing at a time when Australia desperately needs to get serious about tackling the climate crisis.
“If Mr Dutton harbours any doubts about climate change’s impact on Australia, he only needs to look at his home state of Queensland where the Great Barrier Reef has suffered its sixth mass coral bleaching event in a decade, the west of the state has been hit by its worst flooding in 50 years and Queenslanders are still mopping up after Cyclone Alfred.
“The Coalition is offering voters nothing on climate change.
“In fact, its policies would be worse than doing nothing. It intends to slow and reduce the rollout of renewables, weaken the safeguard mechanism, effectively scrap vehicle emissions standards, increase expensive gas for domestic use and export, keep coal-fired power stations open longer, go wobbly on the Paris Agreement, offer no 2030 or 2035 emissions reduction target and no pathway to get Australia to net zero by 2050.
“ACF’s comprehensive assessment of parties’ and candidates’ climate and nature policies had to give the Coalition a score of 1 out of 100.
“While Labor scored a bare pass (54/100), the Coalition’s 1/100 is the lowest mark for the Liberal and National parties’ environment policies in two decades of ACF election scorecards.
“The next parliament is the last parliament that can get Australia’s massive contribution to climate change under control. If you are not up for the task, you don’t deserve the job of prime minister.
“We urge all Australians to look their family members in the eye before heading to the polls and use their vote to elect a parliament that will protect our climate, wildlife and kids.”
Contact details:
Josh Meadows, 0439 342 992, [email protected]