Rosalie Woodruff MP | Greens’ Climate Change spokesperson
Environment Minister Elise Archer's announcement that the government is still stalling on strengthening the Climate Change (State Action) Act is irresponsible. We are living in a rapidly changing climate - that's a reality, and it's the role of every government to address that. We don’t need another consultation process, we need action to prevent even more extreme climate changes from occurring.
The Liberals have an atrocious track record on climate action. They axed the Tasmanian Climate Action Council, removed the Climate Change portfolio, binned the Labor Green Government's 'ClimateSmart 2020' vision, and replaced it with a woefully weak climate inaction plan - and now there is more stalling on the Climate Change (State Action) Act.
The centrepiece of the Liberals’ plan is a meaningless, unlegislated 'aspirational' 2050 emissions' reduction target. Any changes to the Climate Change (State Action) Act must include a legislated near-term target, not an aspirational one as Minister Archer is proposing.
Minister Archer's announcement comes as her Liberal Party conference is set to debate a motion for Australia to walk away from the Paris climate agreement.
This is the latest example of the Hodgman Government's conflicted and denialist attitude to climate change. Tasmanians are being exposed to increasing risk while the Liberals hedge their bets, and allow their troglodyte members to debate whether reducing carbon emissions would impact upon their lifestyles.
It's reckless and irresponsible to downplay or ignore the climate change reality, as both the Liberals and Labor are still doing. The Greens were the only party to take a policy on tackling climate change to the March State election.
If the Hodgman Government and Liberal Party members want to get real, and implement an overarching, comprehensive and legislated plan, they should take a leaf out of the Greens’ policy.