Larissa Waters (Queensland, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you, Mr Acting Deputy President, I will do that in future. So Mr Clive Palmer is here ostensibly to represent the people of Fairfax but it remains to be seen whether it will be his interests or theirs that get the most currency in this place.

It is such a disappointment to see this complete lack of a positive agenda from the new government. This is going to be a really challenging parliament not just for those in here who actually want a better future, fairer society and protection for our planet but for people in the community who feel the same way. I was particularly disappointed with the Abbott government's plan for a so-called 'one-stop shop' for environmental protection. The shop is selling out the environment and letting the state premiers do that. We have had 30 years in this country of the federal government gradually playing more of a role in protecting places and species that are so significant that the world wants us to conserve them—nationally and internationally significant places and species. They have become the responsibility of this parliament, but Mr Greg Hunt, who is meant to represent the environment, look after it and caretake those places, has decided that he does not really want that responsibility anymore. He would rather leave that up to state governments—state governments which have an atrocious track record on environmental issues. The Franklin dam is the best example; the Mary River dam in Queensland is another example where the state was willing to sell out our environmental assets. It took the federal government to step in and say: 'Sorry, that is too precious to lose. That is of national significance. We won't let you destroy it for private profits.' That is the system now under threat from this government. They are sneaking through changes and entering into memoranda of understanding with all the states. There is a huge build-up to the COAG meeting next week, with states being heavied to take on these new responsibilities because Mr Greg Hunt does not want to do his job anymore as the Minister for the Environment. He does not want to have responsibility for protecting those precious places and species. He does not want the climate laws either, so I do not know what he wants to do in his role as environment minister—I think he is probably going to have a bit of free time on his hands, if that is his approach.

In Queensland, the reef is a massive employer for our economy. We have 63,000 people who rely on the reef for their livelihood. That is an awful lot of people—far more than the mining industry has ever had—and yet we have plans for a doubling and trebling of coal exports, which will drive climate change and the direct destruction of the reef through the six new or expanded coal and gas ports that are on the books. The World Heritage Committee has said, 'Guys, you have got to stop this industrialisation or we're going to list the reef as World Heritage in danger.' You would hope and think that that would have some kind of effect and that the government of the day would take that warning seriously and do what is necessary to arrest the decline of our reef—but no. We have had no moratorium on these coal ports. We are full steam ahead. We have a strategic assessment that was released last week that does not actually stop any of those destructive developments that the World Heritage Committee are so concerned about. We have the Abbot Point decision due to be made by the Minister for the Environment, Greg Hunt, next week; it would become the world's largest coal port, in Queensland, right when the climate scientists are saying we are seriously at the eleventh hour. I do not want to see the reef I enjoyed so much as a child devastated by the dredging and the dumping and the shipping highway that it would become if that Abbot Point coal port expansion goes ahead. I do not want to be party to the climate effects of opening up the Galilee Basin for the profits of Mr Clive Palmer, Ms Gina Rinehart and a few Indian multinationals. That is not in our nation's interests. It is not in our grandchildren's interests. It is in the interests of making a few rich people even richer, to the detriment of all of us. I hope that the Minister for the Environment reconsiders what I suspect will be his approach on Abbot Point and thinks long and hard about his own children's future and the future of all of our children.

Many of those ports are proposed for gas export as well as coal. We know that coal seam gas is dangerous to our aquifers. We know that the National Water Commission and the CSIRO have warned us about the potential long-term effects. We do not even know if we can mitigate those long-term effects. We could be contaminating or depleting aquifers that can never be repaired; that is what the science is saying. Yet we have seen an open slather and approvals given left, right and centre by both the state and federal governments with no regard to the precautionary principle which says if you are going to really bugger something up, maybe you should think twice about it before you give the approval. Never mind that—just give the big tick to big business and the big miners. When you are in the bush, make a nice little promise to a landholder and then do absolutely nothing about it when you are back in parliament.

I was temporarily pleased with Prime Minister Abbott's reported remarks to Debbie Orr, one of the landholders of Tara on the Darling Downs. Apparently he said he did think landholders should have the right to say no to coal seam gas. I agree—I think they should. It is a huge risk that is being taken with their land and water and with the climate; they should be able to say no. Sadly, when I moved a motion in this place recognising and applauding the Prime Minister for that statement, members of his party—the government here in this chamber—chose to vote against that motion. Sadly, members of the Labor Party did as well. We see one thing being said in the bush to communities and the absolute opposite being done in this chamber. I hope people realise that they are being sold a pup.

I want to finish by mentioning women. As one of the youngest women in this parliament, I recognise the huge issues that women are still facing in this day and age: the lack of equal pay, and not just for work of equal value but for the same job. There are some horrifying statistics of how female dentists are earning less than their male counterparts when they have had exactly the same training experience. The fact that that is still happening in this day and age just blows me away, and we have to fix it. Then there are women's reproductive rights, which I imagine the next Senate will probably have to confront, given the proclivities of some of our colleagues in this place. There is the discrepancy in superannuation that women find at the end of their working life, and the fact that so many Australian women still face violence in their daily life—these are crucial issues that we must make some headway on.

Yet we have one woman in cabinet—just one. Out of 20 people, all they could find was one woman. There are some good strong women on the Liberal side. Naturally, I disagree with their policy stance but they are good, strong advocates. They were overlooked and now we have a dearth of women and their perspective in cabinet. I am worried that it will really show. I am proud to now be the Australian Greens' spokesperson for women, and I will be building on the record of my colleague Senator Rhiannon. I hope and expect to get support from women in all parties to try to further this crucial equity issue.

This 44th Parliament is going to be a bit of a tough time for us here who want a better world, who want fairness and equity and a safe environment for our kids. It is going to be challenging for people in the community who feel the same. As a mother, that is a perspective that I bring. I think about the sort of world that I want my little girl to live in and I think about when she is my age, when she herself is a parent. It is going to be a very different world. The decisions that we take in this place today will shape that future. We have such a great responsibility.

To have the carbon price repeal bills come to us later today in the Senate is a matter of great shame for me. The Greens will fight that repeal with everything we have. We must act on climate change. It is not just for ourselves; it is for all of the other creatures that we share this planet with, and it is for all generations to come. So we will fight for fairness, we will fight for climate action and we will fight for equity. We will fight for a better world and I hope that we do not see this parliament take us too far backwards in the next few years. It is a challenge that the Greens are willing to face. We pledge to all Australians that we will fight for their future.