MEDIA STATEMENT

Independent Federal Member for Indi Helen Haines MP today seconded Independent Federal Member for Warringah Zali Steggall MP’s Climate Change Bill in Parliament, calling on all MPs who represent rural and regional Australia to put aside politics and support the Bill to conserve livelihoods and the economy.

If passed, the Bill will lock in a target of net zero emissions by 2050 and set up a framework for long-term climate change mitigation. More than 100 businesses and organisations, including Atlassian, Unilever, the Electrical Trades Union and the Australian Medical Association have signed a joint letter addressed to all MPs urging them to support the Bill.

The following comments are attributable to Dr Haines:

Today I was proud to second Zali Steggall’s Climate Change Bill in parliament because it will help protect all that we love about our region.

People in North East Victoria love where we live, and we want to conserve the things that make this such a fantastic place.

We want our dairy farmers to be able to rely on the spring rains so they can keep producing Australia’s best dairy in the Kiewa Valley and the Upper Murray.

We want our grape-growers in places like the King Valley and Rutherglen to continue to make the best wines in the world, and not be driven out by the danger of smoke taint.

We want our alpine villages, Mt Hotham, Mt Buller and Falls Creek, to remain viable, and continue to have snowy winters far into the future.

We want our tourist towns like Mansfield and Bright to be able to rely on the summer trade, and not have it periodically wiped out by catastrophic bushfires.

We want our lakes to be full, so that towns like Tallangatta on Lake Hume and Bonnie Doon on Lake Eildon can keep attracting tourists.

It is these things, the things we love about our community, that are at risk if we fail to take proper action to stabilise our climate.

And if the Government was serious about climate change, it would build up new industries in renewables and in clean manufacturing right here in Indi, so our communities can thrive into the future.

This Bill sets out a framework to both conserve all that is our precious about our communities, and to capture those opportunities before us.

I am a proud regional Australian and so I was proud today to second this Bill. If this is a Government that supports rural and regional Australia, they too should now support it.

The video and full text of Helen’s speech in support of the Bill are at /media/climate-change-bill-will-conserve-our-special-places/