Elizabeth Watson-Brown (Ryan, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

I support the words of both the member for Warringah and the member for Mackellar. In the lead-up to the last federal election, Anthony Albanese told voters:

A Labor Government that I lead will rule out PEP-11—

and said:

My position on PEP-11 is clear. It's a bad idea and only a Labor government will stop it.

No ifs, no buts.

He even reiterated to parliament:

This … project should be consigned to the dustbin of history, where it belongs … This is a complete no-brainer.

Anthony Albanese, the Prime Minister, talked a big game in opposition about stopping the toxic offshore oil and gas drilling project, PEP-11, but, contrary to his election promise, all we've heard from the Prime Minister are excuses.

The Prime Minister's claim that PEP-11's fate is now a matter of regulatory procedure is an absolute cop-out. His government has the power to legally kill the project. Anthony Albanese could at least personally assure the communities that rallied to stop PEP-11 that the Prime Minister will fight to uphold his election promise. This is a serious test for the Prime Minister and the government. Is he going to stay true to his words on stopping this grossly unpopular climate bomb, or is he going to pander to fossil fuel companies and hide behind excuses of procedure or propriety? Not only is this project affecting the New South Wales coastal areas which the members for Warringah and Mackellar and others represent; it affects all of us. So it should be consigned to the dustbin of history, as the Prime Minister said.

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