We’re talking to Senator Paul Scarr today in Canberra Conversations. We love chatting with him. As you know, the Coalition has now voted in favor of ditching Net Zero, and now they must prosecute the case for that. They’re not saying they’re opposed to climate change, or they are climate change deniers, and they’re not saying they don’t want to reduce emissions. They want to do that. They’re just not setting a target, which I think is important for us to consider, for them to be an alternative to the other mob. Affordable energy and emissions reductions, they can go together. Well. Senator Paul Scarr is on the line. Morning to you.
Senator Scarr
Morning to you Tim, and can I tell you and your listeners, it’s a beautiful day in Brisbane after we’ve had some bad storms over the last few weeks, but it’s a beautiful morning here.
Tim Webster
Just before we get on to politics – those hailstones you had, the size of a cricket ball and destroying solar panels. The standard is 2.5 centimeters for solar panels to withstand hail. People were saying it was like bullets going through the windscreen, it was so bad.
Senator Scarr
We’ve had several Hailstorms weekend after weekend. We’re used to hailstorms and thunderstorms up here in Brisbane, but gee, we’ve been hit the last few weekends, and some people have really suffered.
Tim Webster
I’ll get to your portfolio to take, because immigration has become an important issue in the UK, and it is here too. But here we are abandoning Net Zero but not saying we’re climate change deniers and not saying we don’t want to reduce emissions.
Senator Scarr
That is such an important point to make, Tim. We all know electricity prices have gone up by 40% over the last few years, and people are struggling. Businesses are struggling. Businesses are closing shop in Australia and moving offshore. So, the number one focus must be on affordable energy, so we can still do our fair share in terms of emissions reduction, but the time for unrealistic, unaffordable, unfair targets like the Labor Government has, those times are over now… We’re completely united behind this new plan, which will be taken to the Australian people, and the Australian people will have a real choice.
Tim Webster
It’s time for you guys to really prosecute that case, and prosecute it hard, because you do have that perception with younger people, the Gen Zed’s and the millennials, and you know, they embrace climate change, and they think there should be emissions. But the point is, you don’t send yourself broke doing it, do you?
Senator Scarr
People are struggling out there, Tim. 61% of Australians now say that they would struggle to pay a major expense that came out of the blues. So, if your car broke down, your fridge broke down, 61% of Australians say that they would struggle to meet that expense. I mean, it’s just unacceptable. My local food bank is out in Ipswich, they see people they’ve never seen before. People are working and struggling to make ends meet. So, we really have to focus on bringing down the price of electricity, and the way to do that is to be realistic, to be open to all different technologies, make sure our coal fired power stations stay open to provide that base load energy and also to bring on as much gas as we can as quickly as possible.
Tim Webster
Now you are singing from my hymn book, gas. That’s the one. At least the governments recognize we still need it. But, as Jennie George, who is a Labor Stalwart, and many others are saying, there must be a gas reservation policy for the East Coast, there just must be.
Senator Scarr
We have an abundance of gas in this country. It’s absolutely crazy that people, over the last few years have been talking about Australia importing gas from overseas when we have an abundance of gas in the Narrabri Basin, the Beetaloo Basin in the Northern Territory, we’ve got to make use of our natural resources, drive those energy prices down and rebuild our manufacturing capacity.
Tim Webster
Now, speaking of prosecuting the case, as you would know I’m sure, and we spoke to Matt de Groot about it from the UK. Keir Starmer’s Government has cracked down quite dramatically on their Immigration Policy, and as far as asylum seekers are concerned, it now will take you 20 years to become a permanent resident in the UK. It’s a massive crackdown on immigration, and I suspect it’s going to have to happen here. That is, you mate, prosecuting that case.
Senator Scarr
Look, the fact of the matter is the last figures we have, for the year ending 31 March 2025, we had 315,000 people come into Australia, and Net Overseas Migration, that is still 100,000 above the 10 year average before the Covid 19 Pandemic, so that figure needs to substantially come down.
Tim Webster
When you’ve got a housing problem and you import more people, Paul, it just makes no sense.
Senator Scarr
We’ve got pressure on housing, we’ve got pressure on infrastructure, we’ve got pressure on government services, and there’s also no long-term planning. We’ve spoken about this before. I asked questions in the Senate of the Minister, and said, what is your medium-term target? What is your long-term target? What is your plan? What is your strategy? There is none, and there’s no explanation to the Australian people!
Tim Webster
We’re not saying that this should be no Immigration, and we’re not saying no to refugees and asylum seekers. We’ve done that for decades. We did it after the war. We did it for Vietnam refugees, Afghanistan, Iraq, we did it, and we do it. We’re not saying we don’t do it. We’re just saying we need to regulate it and make it more sense for us, for Australians.
Senator Scarr
Our Immigration Policy needs to be in our national interest, and that’s the fundamental principle. The latest figures we have are still 100,000 above that long-term average before the pandemic.
Tim Webster
Thanks, mate. It’s always good to talk to you. Thank you.
Senator Scarr
Okay, take care.
