Mr PERRETT (Moreton) (19:54): It snowed in Canberra this week, a fortnight into spring, while Queenslanders are experiencing the sort of hot, dry weather we are more accustomed to during our summers. The unseasonally hot weather was accompanied by strong, gusty winds. This has created a perfect storm for bushfires. There were more than 50 fires burning across my state last weekend—fires that have been frighteningly destructive. The Sarabah fire in the Gold Coast hinterland was particularly destructive, destroying 11 homes and five businesses, including the historic Binna Burra Lodge, a place of which I have many happy memories stretching back to 1983. The Sarabah fire is still burning. I take this opportunity to thank all of the fire service personnel, including the volunteer firefighters who've been working day and night to get these fires under control and to save properties and lives. You go above and beyond in times like these. I appreciate it and I'm in awe of your selfless dedication. So to every last one of you: I'm grateful for your service. But we need to address the elephant in the room. We, young and old, are seeing the impacts of climate change now. I know it and most Australians know it, including my own son. They've recognised it. The annual Climate of the nation report was released recently, and it showed that 80 per cent of Australians acknowledge that we're already experiencing the impacts of climate change. The Australian Medical Association—a cautious, fact based group—has formally declared climate change a 'health emergency'. They point to: … clear scientific evidence indicating severe impacts for our patients and communities now and into the future. It seems that everyone knows that climate change is real and we are already experiencing its impacts—everyone except the Morrison government. The Morrison government's water minister made a startling admission on television just last week. When asked by David Speers: 'Sorry, just to be clear on this, you're not sure whether man-made climate change is real?' the water minister answered: 'No, I'm not.' That's direct, and about as clear as mud. His admission is in stark contrast to scientists in Australia and around the world. And what did we see on the weekend? The federal council of the minister's party, the Nationals, endorsed a motion to establish a 'watchdog', a 'national scientific quality assurance agency'—a push led by federal MP George Christensen to create an 'office of science quality assurance'. Maybe we could call it the 'ministry for vibes' or the 'ministry for gut feelings' or something like that! Instead, in the real world, we have the view of the Bureau of Meteorology, the CSIRO, the Australian Academy of Science, the Department of Defence, the RBA, insurance companies, 99 per cent of global peer-reviewed climate research, every academy of science in the world, the UN and NASA all agree about the reality of human-induced climate change. The water minister's scepticism is even more worrying when we know that climate change will impact on his own portfolio and his own electorate. The CSIRO has noted: Climate change by 2030 is likely to reduce average river flows by 10 per cent to 25 per cent in some regions of southern Australia but further climate change could produce even more profound reductions of water resources in southern Australia. And I say that as someone who grew up beside the Balonne River. Scientists know that climate change will have real impacts on how we live. Health experts in Australia have already estimated that hundreds of deaths were caused by heatwaves in Victoria in 2009 and 2014. Asthma related admissions to intensive care increased 3,000 per cent during the 2016 thunderstorm event in Victoria. And those events are more likely to occur more often. It is already costing the economy over $8 billion annually through reduced productivity due to extreme heat, and those losses will increase significantly as climate change impacts worsen. Yet this government's only plan is to continue the voted-out Tony Abbott's failed climate policy, which has seen carbon emissions rise every year since 2014. In fact, in the year to March 2019, Australia's carbon emissions rose 0.6 per cent. Not only are emissions not going down; they're actually going up. The Morrison government's own projections show that emissions will keep rising all the way through to 2030. This government will miss the 2020 Kyoto commitment of a five per cent cut on 2000 levels. The government's inaction on climate change is already impacting on our lives, and it will get much worse without real action. In Queensland, where tourism contributes more than $12 billion to the economy, they're especially concerned about the impact of climate change on the Great Barrier Reef. The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority has downgraded the long-term outlook from 'poor' to 'very poor'. It says climate change is escalating and is the most significant threat to the region's long-term outlook. You're not serious about protecting Australia's greatest natural wonder if you don't have a serious plan to tackle climate change. Young people want the government to stop fighting amongst themselves and start fighting climate change with a forward-looking climate policy agenda. Our children, my children, our grandchildren—all of our grandchildren—demand more. House adjourned at 19 : 59