Extreme Weather Conditions

The Hon. P. CAICA (Colton) (15:18): Given yesterday's significant weather event, which is actually continuing today as I speak, I thought I would focus my contribution on our preparedness for this event and the others that are likely to follow. I have been a bit disturbed by what I have heard from the opposition today, not the least by the last contribution during grievances. It is quite obvious that these are the spokespeople for outdated energy generation, and they are the anti-renewables.

When I have nothing better to do, I sit down and read Hansard from the other place. I read with interest yesterday the Hansard relating to 27 October for that place and, in particular, the questions that were directed at the Minister for Emergency Services relating to this weather event and our preparedness to deal with it. As I said, I actually believe, and I am pleased to report my opinion to the house, that, in my view, we have done everything possible to be properly and appropriately prepared for yesterday's event and to manage this event as well as the longer term effect and consequences of this weather system, whatever they might be. As I said, it has not finished yet.

We have done what we can to ensure that those most likely to be more severely impacted knew what was likely to happen, that they were properly informed and that they knew what assistance was available to them and how they may themselves have properly prepared for that event. That said, I want to pass on my thanks and my gratitude for the efforts of emergency services personnel—the police, the MFS, the CFS and the SES—who did an outstanding job during what were very trying circumstances.

I will get back to the point I want to discuss: are we properly prepared for events like this? The two weather events of the past two days, as well as the two events we had last month, amongst other examples I could give, are a glimpse of the future and what we can expect. The simple fact is that weather events similar to those of yesterday, what is happening today and what has happened this year, under the world's climate change scenario will become more frequent and more intense. Indeed, right at this point in time, as I understand it, there is doorknocking going on along the Patawalonga and to houses around the Glenelg area to let them know that, given the high tide and the event we are having, there could be a likelihood of some flooding. I hope that does not occur, but it could.

We live in a world of changing climate and I think most people, except a lot of those opposite, would agree with that. As a state, a nation and a world, we know that we have to do something to reduce our carbon footprint, despite those opposite saying, 'Let's fire up these archaic old stations that are contributing to global warming.' I read an interesting article in The Age on 27 September, entitled 'Earth could warm by seven degrees: long-term study'. The article was based on a study, entitled 'Evolution of global temperature over the past two million years', which was conducted by Stanford University.

The study indicates that a survey over what was two million years shows that in the next thousand years the earth's temperature could increase by as much as 7º. What I found very interesting about this article was that it reported that the Climate Institute's Climate of the Nation poll found that 65 per cent of Australians want their country to lead the world on climate change solutions, which is a marked increase on a previous poll.

I know that the Prime Minister has made a commitment by signing the Paris agreement, but are we doing enough to properly prepare ourselves for the consequences of climate change that are going to occur? I say, 'No, we are not.' It does not matter what we do in South Australia because we are just a small player in the scheme of things. Unless we do it on a national basis and on a global basis, we know we are going to suffer the consequences of that, not the least of which is what we witnessed yesterday, as well as similar scenarios but more intense in nature than what we have experienced. That is a simple fact.

I also read an article, entitled Recalculating the Climate Math, by a man called Bill McKibben. What he is saying—and I think he is right—is that the amount of carbon that is still stored around the world that could be utilised, such as oil and coal, is enough that we do not have to use any of that. If we try to exhaust the world's supplies or carbon, we are not going to reach our 2º increase in temperature target. He says that we cannot keep doing what we are doing, and I agree with him.