Michael Brissenden reported this story on Tuesday, April 28, 2015 08:21:00

MICHAEL BRISSENDEN: The Australian Greens are pushing for net-zero pollution emissions by 2040.



In a speech in Sydney last night Greens Leader Christine Milne argued that greenhouse gas emissions proposed recently by the independent Climate Change Authority were too weak.



She says Australia should be aiming to reduce emissions far more quickly and claims it can be done without mass job losses.



Christine Milne joins me in the studio now. Christine Milne, welcome to the program.



CHRISTINE MILNE: Thank you Michael.



MICHAEL BRISSENDEN: Can we just first talk about the Bali Nine - how should the Government and Australia react if these two men are executed?



CHRISTINE MILNE: Well it's a tragedy, you know, as a mother of two sons I cannot imagine how the families are feeling, how Andrew and Myuran are actually facing this at the last minute.



And it's extraordinary that Indonesia would take this stand, when clearly the Australian Government has asked that clemency be extended. It's not often that governments actually go to the extent that Australia has to ask for this and Indonesia has stood up against it. So it will change the relationship with Indonesia; how that goes we'll see.



But at this last minute we should still be doing everything we can to try to get president Widodo to extend clemency. The constitutional appeals are on, but it would seem that they will still proceed, that that wouldn't preclude the executions going ahead.



So it's going to be a very testing time but the appeal I would have to president Widodo is that Indonesia's standing in the world will fall if they go ahead with these executions because now it's very high profile, there are a number of countries involved around the world, and it really is a test for his presidency and this will define it if he proceeds.



MICHAEL BRISSENDEN: Okay, just quickly before we get to climate change. The other big story of course is Nepal, Tanya Plibersek last night said $5 million of aid was modest. What do you think?



CHRISTINE MILNE: We should be doing everything we can to support the Nepalese people.



MICHAEL BRISSENDEN: How much?



CHRISTINE MILNE: I wouldn't put a figure on it but I spoke to the Foreign Minister yesterday and I said that I would support Australia really putting a substantial amount of money and effort and personnel into the rescue effort.



Kathmandu valley is one of the most population dense areas. That is obviously seen by the death toll. The loss of buildings of capacity there is huge. Even the Australian embassy is badly damaged and can't even, you know, go into. So it just shows you the buildings are just not fit for use.



They're going to need to enormous support with medical supplies and assistance. Every kind of capacity's going to be necessary, so it needs money and it needs capacity.



MICHAEL BRISSENDEN: On the climate change issue now, you say Australia should target 40 to 50 per cent of 2000 levels by 2025, 60 to 80 per cent by 2030, and reach net zero pollution by 2040.



Now how do you achieve that without slashing economic growth and living standards?



CHRISTINE MILNE: Well it would be a major driver actually of huge economic activity. If you just imagine what we would do if we rolled out 100 per cent renewable energy by 2030, that is a massive build around the country in solar, in wind, big research efforts around our universities. So you would see a whole massive capacity building on that.



Retro-fitting buildings so that they're more energy efficient, borrowing money at very low interest rates and investing in public transport; imagine if we had our cities linked with high speed rail. Imagine if we had urban metro - these are really exciting propositions and they could be delivered.



And of course you could shut down old coal fired power stations right now and not have any impact on energy security. Plus you could stop logging native forests right now, have very little impact on anything other than improving the climate and looking after biodiversity.



MICHAEL BRISSENDEN: You would have an impact on jobs immediately though wouldn't you, and on regional communities. I mean that is a fact.



CHRISTINE MILNE: Well the biggest impact on regional communities has been Tony Abbott slashing the renewable energy target, actually renewable energy…



MICHAEL BRISSENDEN: What about all those mining towns out in Western New South Wales and up in Queensland and northern New South Wales? There's a lot of mining towns, a lot of little towns that rely on coal mining for instance.



CHRISTINE MILNE: And there are an awful lot of coal mining jobs that have been slashed in the last 12 months and we've just heard from Adani today for example, that after their exaggerated claims of 10,000 jobs if opening up the Galilee Basin, they've said well actually it would only be 1400 and that will be a wild exaggeration.



So those jobs - of course you need transition plans. But imagine if you are going to switch over from coal to renewables, if you are going to build public transport, if you are going to build high speed rail, if you're going to invest in more education, people are going to get jobs in those new areas.



MICHAEL BRISSENDEN: Okay, last night in your speech you suggested that what was really happening is that vested corporate interests are buying governments with political donations, especially in Australia. Where's your evidence for that?



CHRISTINE MILNE: Well we had ICAC in New South Wales, didn't we? I mean we had a classic case of example after example where huge vested interests went in and negotiated licences with governments, so with government ministers, and were delivered by those governments. And it was demonstrated in ICAC.



We know last year for example, in the Federal Budget, the mining industry came in and said to Joe Hockey, do not get rid of the fuel tax credits, for example the fossil fuel subsidies.



We're seeing it from one end of the country to the other where the big miners - I mean it's just extraordinary. Here you've got BHP in negotiation with the tax office, they owe at a minimum $522 million because they've off-shored their profits, if you like, at the same time arguing they shouldn't pay a mining tax. Carbon price - you name it.



MICHAEL BRISSENDEN: Okay, Senator Milne we'll have to leave it there, thanks very much for joining us.



CHRISTINE MILNE: Thank you Michael.