Ian Goodenough (Moore, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Moore electorate is home to many workers who rely on employment in the oil and gas and mining industries for their livelihoods, with many working as fly-in fly-out workers. The passage of the Safeguard Mechanism (Crediting) Amendment Bill 2022 potentially places these livelihoods and our economy at risk. I'm concerned to read in today's West Australian newspaper that many of the 116 coal, oil and gas projects in the investment and development pipeline across Australia are likely to be blocked under the compromise deal agreed between Labor and the Greens to secure support for the passage of the climate legislation.

The Greens have demanded 13 oppressive concessions over the safeguard mechanism which will make it very difficult to get new energy projects off the ground. These include Woodside Energy's Scarborough gas field and Shell's Crux gas field, which are scheduled to start producing in coming years. These projects will be risked under the hard emissions caps. The Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association warns that the caps will create barriers to future investment in natural gas projects, whilst Ampol has already outlined the need to charge more for fuel to pay for Labor's deal with the Greens. Labor and the Greens have effectively placed a hard cap on the Australian economy and Australian jobs. This is deindustrialisation, not decarbonisation. This policy does nothing to combat the global problem of emissions. It is a gross act of economic self-harm. If industries cannot operate in Australia, they will relocate overseas, taking thousands of jobs and investment with them. For more than 60,000 fly-in fly-out workers in Western Australia, including many in my electorate, it means their jobs are at risk at a time when they are already struggling with rising cost-of-living pressures.

Developing good energy policy is the coalition's focus. Labor's current budget papers show that, over the next two years, household electricity prices are going to rise by 56 per cent. We must understand that renewable energy alone is not sufficient to meet our needs during times of peak demand. The ACCC and the Energy Market Operator have also warned that Australians face blackouts unless we can secure more supply into the energy market. The Australian economy requires transitional fuels, such as natural gas, to bridge the gap and facilitate our economy to meet its emissions reduction targets and Australia's climate action goals.