Stephen Bates (Brisbane, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak to the Net Zero Economy Authority Bill 2024. The climate crisis is negatively impacting all aspects of modern life. The Australian population has gone through endless pain—sweltering summers, flooding events, incredible humidity, heatwaves and fires. And we know this is only going to get worse as the planet gets warmer and weather patterns become more and more unpredictable.

We are in a climate crisis right now. We cannot afford any new coal and gas projects, but fossil fuel companies have an outrageous amount of power within our political system and will do all they can to keep their profits high at the expense of this planet. The climate crisis is not just an environmental issue, however; we know the impacts disproportionately affect marginalised communities. First Nations communities, lower socio-economic areas and rural populations all bear most of the brunt of environmental degradation.

Australians are being taken for a ride. Massive coal and gas companies milk our resources and send the profits overseas while we at home face higher and higher home insurance prices, and more homes, including in my own electorate, that are entirely uninsurable. It's a broken system. A just transition must prioritise the needs and voices of those most affected by climate change.

The Greens have long supported a transition to a zero emissions society—a transition that must be used to create a more economically just and equal society. That means making sure that renewable electricity is readily available and affordable for everyone, that buildings and homes are sustainable and climate change ready and that more people are employed in the green economy. We must be ready for this future or Australia will be left behind yet again.

Gas is often touted as a cleaner alternative to oil or coal. The reality is that the extraction, transportation and combustion of gas releases eight significant amount of emissions into the atmosphere. This Labor government likes to trumpet on about the climate wars being over, but so long as it keeps approving new coal and gas mines the climate wars will continue. This government is giving gas companies a licence to destroy. As we all learned recently, the resources minister gets a letter from gas executives saying they want more money and less engagement with First Nations communities, and the next thing we know we have legislation that does exactly that—makes it easier to rapidly approve gas expansion. It is just what these huge fossil fuel companies needed—yet another win. When the fossil fuel industry says, 'Jump', Labor and the coalition say, 'How high?' Could it be that the donations from the gas companies to Labor and the coalition hold power over the decision-making process? Maybe. Probably. Definitely.

Labor must stop opening new coal and gas mines and instead focus on meaningful investment to transition to renewable energy and a net zero economy. Approving new fossil fuel projects is, at this point, anti science and leaves younger Australians in particular to deal with the fallout of a problem that they did not create but will bear the brunt of. The government keeps repeating the talking point of the gas industry that gas is the transition fuel to lower emissions, but every new gas well that is drilled and every new pipeline that is laid lock in decades of carbon emissions, further exacerbating climate change. Instead of investing in short-sighted solutions that perpetrate our dependence on fossil fuels, Australia must prioritise a rapid transition to renewable energy.

Then we have the coalition's harebrained nonstarter that is their push for nuclear. If the eye-watering exorbitant costs aren't enough for you, the lengthy lead times required to establish a nuclear industry would leave us with a multidecade black hole in energy sufficiency and simply push back action on climate change. They're trying their best to delay climate action under a thinly veiled and incomplete policy that doesn't come close to stacking up. We don't have time for it. We just need to accept that climate change is real and start dealing with it.

Australia possesses abundant renewable energy resources: wind, solar and geothermal. With sensible investment in infrastructure and technology, our country could actually become a global leader in clean energy production, helping us at home and our neighbours in the Pacific and around the world. We're talking about benefits beyond just mitigating the effects of climate change. There are vast economic benefits as well—job creation and energy independence, just to name a couple. By harnessing the power of the sun, wind and waves, Australia can secure a brighter and more sustainable future for us and for generations to come.

Recently, we have had some Labor backbenchers come out with concerns about their party's own Future Gas Strategy. Any Labor MPs who care about climate change must vote with the Greens against more coal and gas for a safer future. It's all well and good to express your concerns on social media, but at the end of the day, if you're voting for policies that enable fossil fuel expansion, what is the point? We are in the middle of a climate emergency, and all we are getting is some tinkering around the edges that poses precisely zero threat to the fossil fuel industry when what we need to be doing is stopping all new fossil fuel projects.

The need for urgent climate action in Australia could not be clearer. This Labor government's intention to expand the coal and gas industry is not only environmentally disastrous but economically short-sighted and socially short-sighted. Instead of doubling down on fossil fuels, it is absolutely critical that Australia rapidly transition to renewable energy. We need to be leading the way. We need to be promoting environmental justice towards a more sustainable future for all of us.

Australia is one of the world's largest per capita emitters of greenhouse gases. We export over one billion tonnes of emissions a year and produce another half a billion here at home. As a developed nation, we have a moral obligation to take bold action on climate change. This government must reject any expansion of the fossil fuel industry, and it must rapidly and equitably transition to renewable energy. Australia should be demonstrating leadership on the global stage, inspiring other nations to follow suit, but yet again, as always, we are playing catch up.

The climate crisis could not be more urgent. We must walk the walk and inspire international cooperation. We simply cannot afford to be left behind. Instead, this Labor government is joining with the coalition in making gas the poster child of the future. The fossil fuel industry is a Ponzi scheme, and this house of cards is already crashing down all around us. A rebranding of Scott Morrison's gas-fired recovery is not a prosperous future. My constituents in Brisbane want a clean, renewable future for this country, because it is what we all deserve.

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