Pat Conroy (Shortland, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for International Development and the Pacific) Share this | Hansard source

I proudly second this motion to suspend the standing orders. Standing orders must be suspended because my community and every community in the Hunter, Central Coast and northern Sydney regions needs certainty about this project. The licence for PEP-11 expired on 12 February. At that time Minister Pitt said that he would make a decision soon. Since that expiration my community has had 251 days of uncertainty. My community have been in agony for 251 days waiting to know whether they're going to see oil and gas rigs off their coast. We continue to have this delay and Advent Energy continue to work on the project while this uncertainty continues.

What are we talking about? We're talking about offshore oil and gas drilling rigs as close as five kilometres to our pristine coastline and five kilometres to some of the beautiful beaches in my electorate, such as Redhead Beach, endangering our environment and the tens of thousands of jobs that rely on that environment. This project risks the thousands of jobs in our tourism and hospitality industries that rely upon our coastal lifestyle. It risks the thousands of jobs in the commercial and recreational fishing industries that rely on our pristine maritime environment. It risks the beautiful beaches that we all enjoy.

Nipper season is around the corner. As thousands of kids go back into the water, including my own, I don't want them to be worried about whether this will be the last year they get to enjoy our beautiful beaches. That's why the standing orders must be suspended and why everyone in this chamber must vote in support of the Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage Amendment (Stopping PEP11) Bill 2021. Everyone in this chamber must vote in support of this bill. The members for Robertson, Mackellar, North Sydney and Wentworth profess to oppose PEP-11 but have gone missing. They say they oppose PEP-11. They need to demonstrate it by not just talking about it but by voting for the suspension of the standing orders and by forcing the government and the Prime Minister to deliver at least 26 members of their party room to allow the suspension to succeed. It's easy for them to get up and say, 'We oppose it and we'll vote for the suspension,' knowing that it will fail unless they bring 26 members of their party room with them. That's the truth.

The member for Robertson said on 24 April:

Under a Morrison Government PEP-11 will not go ahead.

The Prime Minister, Scott Morrison … said it himself while he was on the Coast this week, and he is rock solid on that decision.

I am saying no to PEP-11. The Prime Minister is saying no to PEP-11.

I look forward to the member for Robertson's remarks. Hopefully, she will get up and say that the project is dead. Unless she votes for the suspension, unless she votes for the Steggall bill and unless she brings 26 members of the government with her, they are just hollow words—hollow words from a member of the government that so far is allowing offshore oil and gas drilling off our coast. That is the truth of it.

We'll see some charades here—do they support this or do they support that? The government and Minister Pitt could kill this with the stroke of a pen. Failing that, 26 members of the government could cross the floor and vote for the suspension and then the actual bill. I hope they do. I will say to them, 'Well done,' if they do. If they don't, they will be accused of utter mendacity and hypocrisy, because there will be empty words where action is needed.

This is about the future of our coastline. This is about the future of tens of thousands of jobs in our community. I hope Minister Hawke gets up and says something positive about it. I hope Minister Hawke says that the project is now dead. Hopefully, he will kill it. Hopefully, he will convince the Nationals, who are really running this government on climate and energy policy, to do the right thing and kill the project. I'm looking for good words from him. But let's be honest about it. If they do fold, it will only be because of the pressure of members of the Labor Party and Independents and the huge community opposition to this project. That is what has delivered this opposition. That is what has delivered this campaign. That is why we are even debating this bill. I have never seen a project more opposed to by the entire community than this project. If the government does fold, if the government does surrender, that will be great. I will certainly appreciate that.

I congratulate every Labor member of parliament who has been involved in this campaign—and some of them are behind me—the member for Newcastle, the member for Paterson, the member for Dobell, the member for Kingsford Smith and the leader of the Labor Party, Anthony Albanese, who said, 'If this project is still going ahead when Labor is in government, we will kill it.' I cede the remaining five minutes of my time to the member for Dobell.

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