10th Sep 2019, 4:17 PM – Senate Motions - Queensland - Bushfires

The majority voted against a motion introduced by Queensland Senator Larissa Waters (Greens), which means it failed.

Motion text

That the Senate—

(a) notes:

(i) that just one week after winter, Queensland is experiencing unprecedented and devastating bushfires and facing what the fire service has described as the most catastrophic bushfire season in recorded history,

(ii) that hundreds of people have been affected by the devastating fires—to date, 80 properties have been reported as damaged or destroyed, including the heritage-listed Bina Burra resort, and prior to these bushfires, a total of 40 properties had been lost to bushfire in Queensland in the previous 130 years,

(iii) the critical role that firefighting and emergency services personnel play in the frontline response to emergencies and climate-related disasters,

(iv) that the Bushfire and Natural Hazard Cooperative Research Centre's latest Seasonal Bushfire Outlook, August 2019, confirmed that Queensland fire seasons have been starting earlier and persisting longer since 1990,

(v) that drought conditions and severe water shortages in the Darling Downs and Granite Belt are expected to make fighting bushfires even more difficult across the summer, and

(vi) that, unless urgent action is taken to reduce harmful emissions and stop further global warming, bushfires, drought, and heatwaves will become more frequent and severe, putting Australian lives and properties at risk; and

(b) calls on the Federal Government to:

(i) urgently take action to address climate change and manage the risk and severity of bushfires,

(ii) invest in community adaptation efforts to build resilience to climate change in moderate and high risk areas, and

(iii) commit to action to progress a rapid and just transition to clean and renewable energy sources to reduce the harmful emissions driving climate change.