Monique Ryan (Kooyong, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on behalf of the people of Kooyong, to share their concerns about the federal government's continued approval of new fossil fuel projects. Recently, I've received more than 100 emails from constituents extremely concerned about the billions of tonnes of climate change emissions arising from the Burrup Hub. Woodside plans to extend two key components of its massive LNG megaproject, Burrup Hub, off the coast of Western Australia. The Minister for the Environment and Water will soon consider these proposals: the extension of the North West Shelf onshore gas processing facility, out to 2070, and the development of the Browse offshore gas field. Scientist Peter Newman, from Curtin University, has observed:

The world is going to look at this and say this is the biggest global contribution to climate change in the history of Australia that is about to be approved. Everything else we're doing fades away in comparison.

The International Energy Agency categorically stated, in May 2021, that no new oil or gas projects can be compatible with our agreed goal of restricting global warming to 1.5 degrees. Development of these gas fields would be in direct contradiction with our obligations to urgently reduce emissions and work towards a net zero future. It's not just the emissions. Industrial noise, oil spills, toxic water discharge, light pollution and heavy shipping from gas fields and processing facilities will endanger marine life. This expansion is also highly likely to impact Australia's western coral reefs and threaten breeding and nesting habitat for threatened species such as the ancient turtles, not to mention the potential threat to the Murujuga rock art through chemical emissions—a threat which has been acknowledged by the Western Australian Environmental Protection Agency. Today, on Threatened Species Day, I note that the billions of tonnes of emissions from the Burrup Hub will most certainly have a significant and detrimental effect on the sea turtles and whales that inhabit the Scott and Mermaid reefs.

As was highlighted in the recent State of the environment report, the need for action to protect our plants, animals and ecosystems from extinction has never been greater. The science is clear. For the sake of our climate, the biodiversity of our oceans and the preservation of threatened species, I implore the minister to stop expansion of the Burrup Hub and to honour her own Threatened species action plan: towards zero extinctions.