14th Sep 2023, 10:14 AM – Representatives Motions - Climate Change: Threat and Risk Assessment - Let a vote happen

The majority voted against a motion introduced by Warringah MP Zali Steggall (Independent). The motion was to suspend the usual rules - known as standing orders - in order to let another vote take place. Because it was unsuccessful, that other vote can not occur.

Motion text

That so much of the standing and sessional orders be suspended as would prevent the member for Warringah moving the following motion—

That this House:

(1) notes that:

(a) the Australian Government received its first climate and security risk assessment, carried out by the Office of National Intelligence (ONI) in late 2022;

(b) if similar to risk assessments undertaken by other nations including Australia's allies, the ONI climate risk assessment is likely to have concluded that:

(i) the world is dangerously off track to meet the Paris Agreement goals, that security risks are compounding and that the impacts will be devastating in the coming decades; and

(ii) in the Asia-Pacific region, states will fail and climate impacts will drive political instability, greater national insecurity and forced migration fuelling regional conflict; and

(c) despite numerous requests, the Government has refused to release a declassified version of the ONI report or indicate any policy changes based on the risks identified in the report;

(d) climate change is rapidly accelerating, leading to intensifying extreme weather events and human catastrophes around the world, including humanitarian crises in Hawaii, Greece and now Libya;

(e) Australia's allies including the United States, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands in conjunction with the European Union have all released declassified versions of climate national security risk assessments; and

(f) this week retired defence chiefs briefed Members of Parliament on the national security risks emerging from climate change, outlining what strategies and actions are needed to protect the nation; and

(2) calls on the Government to:

(a) urgently release a declassified version of the ONI climate security risk assessment report; and

(b) outline the specific climate related security threats to Australia and the specific responses the Government proposes to undertake in response to each of those threats.