Wednesday, 21 February 2024

Statements on tabled papers and petitions

Commissioner for Environmental Sustainability Victoria

Victorian State of the Environment 2023 Report

Sheena WATT (Northern Metropolitan) (17:15): I rise this afternoon to speak on the Victorian government’s response to the Victorian State of the Environment 2023 Report – and I thank Environmental Sustainability Victoria and their commissioner Dr Gillian Sparkes AM for the submission of this report – and to note the continued nation-leading work the Victorian Labor government is doing to reduce emissions and protect our environment.

This report conducts a five-yearly report card on the health of Victoria’s natural environment – our land, water, air and ecosystems. The report is a considered analysis of the available science and the pressure and challenges ahead. It covers three areas: the health of Victoria’s natural environment, the adequacy of our science and areas of future focus. This report marks the first time that a comprehensive scientific baseline analysis of Victoria’s environment has been carried forward and re-evaluated in consecutive Victorian State of the Environment reports. The SOE 2023 reports on 139 indicators of environmental conditions. This is fewer than the 170 indicators assessed in 2018. There are 171 trend assessments of 139 indicators, and it reports that 33 are improving, 34 are stable, 60 are deteriorating and 44 remain unclear.

The report was handed down last year, and it was highlighted that Victoria’s temperature increases reported in the previous report have continued. Victoria is getting warmer and more fire-prone and can continue to expect more extreme weather in the future. However, the annual net greenhouse gas emissions have improved by a reduction of 27 per cent for the 2015 to 2020 period. Positive mitigation efforts are further supported by the energy indicators, with five of the six energy assessments improving compared with the 2018 assessments. This is in no small part due to the actions, the policies, the framework and the hard work put in place by the Victorian Labor government to meet its climate action targets and the continued work underway to support Victoria’s response to climate change and transition to net zero emissions by 2045.

Victoria is unequivocally the country’s leader in climate action. We smashed our 2020 emissions target of a 15 to 20 per cent reduction: we achieved 29.6 per cent. And in 2021 we achieved a 32.3 per cent reduction. We do not just talk about climate change, we are delivering on it. We are decarbonising at the fastest rate in the country, and since this government was elected in 2014 we have cut emissions by more than any other state. We have the strongest climate change legislation in the country, and Victorians have voted overwhelmingly for the next step in our ambitious agenda. It is true that the people want this. We are at a critical point in protecting our unique and precious environment, and I am proud to be part of a government that does not just talk about the environment but is getting on with doing what needs to be done to protect it.

We are seeing an unprecedented number of natural disasters which are impacting our wildlife and biodiversity, and the Allan Labor government remains committed to preserving the environment and communities through these disasters. We will continue to strengthen Victoria’s environmental protection policy and legislative framework, including continuing to deliver on the Biodiversity 2037 targets and working with traditional owners to create on-ground assessments and continuing to develop contemporary biocultural indicators consistent with existing policy. We will work with the Commonwealth government on their ambitious reform agenda too.

The Allan Labor government is delivering the grid of the future, with $540 million over the next four years – more than any other state – to establish six renewable energy zones, from sunny Mildura to the windy east coast, unlocking new renewable energy investment that will support economic growth and jobs. We have invested $540 million to unlock all six of the Victorian renewable energy zones. We have brought online the largest battery in the Southern Hemisphere and recently opened another big battery in Hazelwood. We have built more batteries than any other state, and that is all part of our plan to tackle emissions and act on climate change.

We will continue to support recovery of public land impacted by storms, floods and bushfires and prepare for the upcoming bushfire season. Importantly, we will grow our partnership with traditional owners to support self-determination and to have progress towards treaty. We are hearing a lot in this place and the other place about what is real and what is fake, but the Allan Labor government is getting on with acting: real change, driving down emissions, striving towards a better future for all Victorians. I do recommend the Victorian State of the Environment 2023 Report to the chamber.