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

My question is to the Minister representing the Treasurer, Senator Cormann. I refer to reports that the new Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility announced in the budget could see taxpayers' money used to finance Galilee Basin coalmines, railways and coal ports beside the Great Barrier Reef. In this age of climate change, when we know that the Galilee Basin coal must stay in the ground, and after 11 international banks have ruled out financing these projects, handing over taxpayers' money to mining billionaires to fund economically unviable white elephants is sheer madness. Can you guarantee that taxpayers' money will not be used to prop up these climate destroying coalmines?