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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/live/2018/dec/16/labor-national-conference-day-one-politics-live
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| Labor spruiks environmental message as anti-Adani protest grows – live | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| The Greens have responded to Labor’s environmental policies, by claiming many of them as their own. Sarah Hanson Young: | |
| “We welcome Labor adopting Greens’ policy on stronger protections for the environment, but without proper investment and committing to no new coal, oil and gas they will fail,” she said. | |
| “We need a Government committed to stopping Adani and protecting the Great Australian Bight. | |
| “We need a Government that will invest in environmental protections and save our threatened species. | |
| “The Greens in the Senate will ensure Labor is held to their promises on protecting the environment. We will always stand up to the fossil fuels lobby and fight for no new coal, oil and gas. | |
| “Labor continues to ignore the calls to phase out coal and stop the Adani mine. They are still split on drilling for oil in the Great Australian Bight, which not only comes at great risk to the marine environment and local fishing and tourism industries, but locks us to burning fossil fuels into the future. | |
| “Unless we transition out of burning fossil fuels, we will continue to contribute to a warming planet at a time when action to arrest climate change is more urgent than ever.” | |
| Ged Kearney is moving the next section. | |
| It has changed from this: | |
| There is no longer any credible or serious scientific doubt that human-induced climate change represents a massive risk to Australia and the world. As a result, meaningful action on climate change is urgent, at home and internationally. Labor will take strong action on climate change to mitigate the risks and impacts of climate change on Australian society and economy, and to take advantage of the opportunities transitioning to a low pollution economy represent for workers, businesses and Australia more broadly. | |
| To this: | |
| The contemporary challenge | |
| There is no longer any credible or serious scientific doubt that human-induced climate change represents a massive risk to Australia and the world. The recent IPCC report indicates that we are experiencing a climate emergency, and as a result, meaningful action on climate change is urgent, at home and internationally. Labor will take strong action on climate change to mitigate the risks and impacts of climate change on Australian society and economy, and to take advantage of the opportunities transitioning to a low pollution economy represent for workers, businesses and Australia more broadly. | |
| This amendment: | |
| Labor does not support mining or other resource extraction in national parks and world heritage areas. | |
| Has been altered to this amendment: | |
| Labor will ensure environmental laws are fully applied to protect world heritage sites from the construction of dams or raising of dam walls that would inundate those sites. | |
| Kristina Keneally has also reiterated Labor’s promise to take back the $444m from the Great Barrier Reef Foundation. That got a cheer. | |
| Matt Thistlewaite says it has been five years and the Coalition still don’t have an energy policy, and that they threw out the prime minister, rather than work towards a policy they could live with. | |
| It has to be said that if there was ever a room where you could say you were preaching to the converted, this is it. | |
| I didn’t do a count, so I can’t comment on the numbers in this statement – I can confidently say there were a lot of protesters, so many, that some of the delegates inside the conference were taken aback. | |
| From the Australian Youth Climate Coalition (the same group who staged a sit in protest in the foyer of parliament house recently) statement: | |
| 800 fired-up South Australians took to the ALP National Conference today to demand they lead on climate and commit to keeping fossil fuels in the ground. | |
| Chants of “Keep it in the ground” and “We will, we will stop you Adani” could be heard from inside the conference centre as the Labor Party was inside discussing their climate and environment policy. | |
| Kelly Albion, MC of the rally from Australian Youth Climate Coalition said: “First Nations people, young people, parents and grandparents were loud and fired up, because our future is on the line and we won’t stand for Labor’s compromises and fence-sitting when it comes to phasing out fossil fuel exports.” | |
| The crowd gathered at the entrance to the Convention Centre to hear from youth, union, religious and First Nations leaders about the urgency of the transition beyond fossil fuels. They then marched around the building to ensure their message was heard by attendees inside. | |
| “Children and young people all over the world are having to make sacrifices and will continue to do so. They are paying the price of our inaction today. We are so lucky to have the privilege to stand up and speak out – that’s why I’m here taking action on climate change,” Adelaide high school student Doha Khahn said at today’s event. | |
| Philippa Rowland, president of Multifaith SA, also addressed the crowd. “People of faith in Australia feel the urgent need for an ethical response to threats posed to vulnerable communities from escalating climate impacts across our region – all climate policies must include a rapid transition away from fossil fuels,” she said. | |
| “It’s insane Australia is opening up new oil, gas and coal frontiers when we know we need to stop burning fossil fuels,” said Wilderness Society South Australia director Peter Owen. “Expanding the fossil fuel industry is the height of irresponsibility and not an option if we are to have any chance of providing our children with a liveable climate, | |
| “We now know we must act immediately to avoid locking in catastrophic climate change. Allowing the fossil fuel industry to expand would negate Labor’s good work in promoting renewable energy. It’s time for the Labor party to show national leadership and commit to stopping the expansion of the fossil fuel industry when it sets its election platform at this national conference.” | |
| “With Queensland on fire one week, and battered with the storms the next, the equation is simple: fossil fuels must stay in the ground. If Labor wants to be taken seriously as a leader on climate action, they must commit to stopping Adani, keeping oil in the Bight and ban fracking. We won’t settle for anything less,” concluded Kelly Albion. | |
| Anika Wells, Labor’s candidate for Lilley, now that Wayne Swan has announced he’ll be stepping down at the next election, uses the opportunity to lay out Labor’s plan of attack in Queensland, where it has nine targeted seats. | |
| Those paying attention know that it means taking the government’s ‘formerly known as the big stick’ policy and turning it into a battle over privatisation. | |
| Stu Traill from the Queensland ETU seconds that. That’s because two state governments have fallen in Queensland because of privatisation policies. Queenslanders hate it. HATE it. So Labor has seen an opportunity to set up a separate campaign in Queensland, where the election will be won and lost, and they are going to seize it. | |
| And it’s just getting started. | |
| Pat Conroy and his linen jacket (#neverforget) is leading the charge when it comes to Labor’s push to have climate change policies also include job growth. | |
| His latest amendment, combines the two – renewable energies yes, but make sure it includes a new workforce opportunity. | |
| Labor recognises that the development of a carbon neutral hydrogen industry will be a critical part of Australia’s transition to a decarbonised economy. Clean hydrogen will be essential to decarbonising the electricity, manufacturing, household and transport sectors. It also offers enormous opportunities to grow a domestic hydrogen industry to generate significant export earnings from international demand as well as to satisfy our local needs. Accordingly, Labor will establish a national hydrogen strategy to seize these opportunities. | |
| While the conference floor is motoring through these amendments, other meetings are happening on the sidelines: | |
| Full house at the AEU’s @AEUfederal fair funding for schools event at #LabConf18 Correna Haythorpe @CHaythorpeAEU pic.twitter.com/ccVpY0TXND | |
| The environment protection act changes are now official Labor policy, having been carried. | The environment protection act changes are now official Labor policy, having been carried. |
| Again, we haven’t gone to the floor for any motion or amendment as yet. | Again, we haven’t gone to the floor for any motion or amendment as yet. |
| Meanwhile, Scott Morrison needs a new pair of glasses, because his dog ate his old ones. | Meanwhile, Scott Morrison needs a new pair of glasses, because his dog ate his old ones. |
| A modern Australian story pic.twitter.com/ikBnOOF8sc | A modern Australian story pic.twitter.com/ikBnOOF8sc |
| The original amendment looked like this (you’ll notice what is missing in the first few dot points) | The original amendment looked like this (you’ll notice what is missing in the first few dot points) |
| Australia needs new frameworks for truly national protection and management of Australia’s natural resources to enshrine federal leadership in proactive and systemic protection of our environment from threats such as climate change. Labor will: | Australia needs new frameworks for truly national protection and management of Australia’s natural resources to enshrine federal leadership in proactive and systemic protection of our environment from threats such as climate change. Labor will: |
| Reform federal environment laws; | Reform federal environment laws; |
| Ensure the knowledge and rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are central in environment protection laws, programs and policies; | Ensure the knowledge and rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are central in environment protection laws, programs and policies; |
| Create strong, well-resourced, science-based, independent environment institutional structures with strong legislative and financial basis to proactively protect environmental assets, regularly report on progress on actions and outcomes and provide policy leadership and compliance functions; | Create strong, well-resourced, science-based, independent environment institutional structures with strong legislative and financial basis to proactively protect environmental assets, regularly report on progress on actions and outcomes and provide policy leadership and compliance functions; |
| Implement clear management, governance and decision making structures and responsibility that are transparent, efficient and streamlined, relating not only to development applications but also priorities for proactive protection; | Implement clear management, governance and decision making structures and responsibility that are transparent, efficient and streamlined, relating not only to development applications but also priorities for proactive protection; |
| Provide consistent, national standards and adequate, publicly available data for decision making; | Provide consistent, national standards and adequate, publicly available data for decision making; |
| Improve regulation and streamline environmental assessment processes; | Improve regulation and streamline environmental assessment processes; |
| Restore democracy, respect and protection of rights for civil society involvement in environmental matters; | Restore democracy, respect and protection of rights for civil society involvement in environmental matters; |
| Manage Australia’s environment fairly and efficiently as a foundation for ecologically sustainable jobs; and | Manage Australia’s environment fairly and efficiently as a foundation for ecologically sustainable jobs; and |
| Protect biodiversity and support resilience in the natural environment. | Protect biodiversity and support resilience in the natural environment. |
| The first environment chapter amendment is up. | The first environment chapter amendment is up. |
| It’s this one: | It’s this one: |
| Australia needs new frameworks for truly national protection and management of Australia’s natural resources to enshrine federal leadership in proactive and systemic protection of our environment from threats such as climate change, and to protect the value of heritage sites. | Australia needs new frameworks for truly national protection and management of Australia’s natural resources to enshrine federal leadership in proactive and systemic protection of our environment from threats such as climate change, and to protect the value of heritage sites. |
| Labor will: | Labor will: |
| Establish an Australian Environment Act within the first term of government; | Establish an Australian Environment Act within the first term of government; |
| Ensure the knowledge and rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are central in environment protection laws, programs and policies; | Ensure the knowledge and rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are central in environment protection laws, programs and policies; |
| For the purposes of managing matters of national environmental significance, create strong, well resourced, science based institutions to administer the law: including a federal environmental protection agency to conduct public inquiries, provide transparent and timely advice to the minister within a clear decision-making framework and enforcement; and ensure there is the capacity in the public service to provide federal leadership on the environment; | For the purposes of managing matters of national environmental significance, create strong, well resourced, science based institutions to administer the law: including a federal environmental protection agency to conduct public inquiries, provide transparent and timely advice to the minister within a clear decision-making framework and enforcement; and ensure there is the capacity in the public service to provide federal leadership on the environment; |
| Implement clear management, governance and decision making structures that are transparent, efficient and streamlined; | Implement clear management, governance and decision making structures that are transparent, efficient and streamlined; |
| Improve regulation and streamline environmental assessment processes; | Improve regulation and streamline environmental assessment processes; |
| Manage Australia’s environment fairly and efficiently as a foundation for ecologically, socially and economically sustainable jobs; | Manage Australia’s environment fairly and efficiently as a foundation for ecologically, socially and economically sustainable jobs; |
| Protect biodiversity and support resilience in the natural environment; and | Protect biodiversity and support resilience in the natural environment; and |
| Direct the Environment Department to establish national environment plans that set targets and approaches to proactively protect the environment | Direct the Environment Department to establish national environment plans that set targets and approaches to proactively protect the environment |