The petition of citizens of Queensland draws to the attention of the House that climate change is now the biggest crisis that mankind has ever faced. Within the lifetime of our grandchildren, and, for some of us, our own children, the temperature rise in Queensland is very likely to exceed the mean global temperature rise since the last ice age 20,000 years ago. Every species of animal and plant is genetically adapted to a specific range of temperature and moisture. Within the next sixty years, Queensland’s rising temperatures and diminishing rainfall will exceed the tolerance limits for many wildlife species – and if they can’t migrate, they will die. The sooner intensive mitigation action is taken, the greater the benefits. The most effective mitigation action we can take is to cease all clearing of bushland – because bushland is wildlife habitat, and the more we have, the more wildlife that have a chance of surviving climate change. There is no need to clear bushland for development – there is plenty of land available that has already been cleared. That’s where our new housing and industrial estates should be built. Your petitioners therefore request the House to amend the Integrated Planning Act 1997 and the South East Queensland Regional Plan 2005-2026 to allow the provisions of the Vegetation Management Act 1999 to apply to all of Queensland without exception.