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

I rise to speak on the Snowy Hydro Corporatisation Amendment (No New Fossil Fuels) Bill 2021 [No. 2]. We shouldn't have to be introducing this bill today. We do, because, in the middle of a climate emergency, the government announced that it would use public money to back a fossil fuel project, which will make the climate crisis worse, at the same time as slowing down investment in renewables. Not one single energy analyst says that we need to build this white elephant. It will result in the loss of taxpayers' money, it will slow the transition to renewables, it will create even more market uncertainty, it will enrich the Liberal donor who owns the land and it will drive up energy prices. That is quite the combination of bad outcomes in just one decision.

The government only wants to build this because Minister Taylor wants to enrich his gas donors, mainly Santos, whose Narrabri gas field would supply the gas, should that field ever be fracked—and only over the proverbial dead bodies of the traditional owners would that occur. The energy industry pointedly refused to waste their own money on a gas plant. Yet this is a gas fired power station. Gas is a fossil fuel. Any new fossil fuels are locking us in for catastrophic climate impacts. The Climate Council says it best:

Building a government-owned gas power station in the middle of a climate crisis is the equivalent of asking the Australian public to jump onto a sinking ship without a safety raft.

This bill would stop that public money being wasted on a new fossil fuel gas-fired power plant. This bill would prohibit Snowy Hydro from developing or constructing—or being involved in the development or construction of—new fossil-fuel-based electricity generation capacity. It would prevent Snowy Hydro from acquiring, purchasing or otherwise investing in—or being involved in acquiring, purchasing or investing in—new fossil-fuel-based electricity generation capacity. It would prohibit Snowy Hydro from operating, or being involved in the operation of, new fossil-fuel-based electricity generation capacity. This bill would stop more public money being thrown at irresponsible fossil fuel projects that the market doesn't support, that experts have denounced and that the climate and future generations cannot afford.

This bill explicitly does not deal with the fossil fuel assets that Snowy Hydro already owns. We have to deal with that. We know we need to wind down our existing fossil fuel generation capacity, whilst transitioning those workers into jobs that have a long-term, sustainable future. The Greens have a clear position on this. The transition to 100 per cent renewables needs to be completed in the next decade if Australia is to do its fair share of limiting global heating to 1½ degrees Celsius in the next decade.

This bill also would not impact on the ongoing business of Snowy as an electricity and gas retailer, even though we know we have to urgently transition homes and businesses from gas to electric heat pumps and green hydrogen, but what this bill does seek is to prevent the government from making the problem worse. This government has made it clear that it intends to invest in new fossil fuel based electricity generation in the middle of a climate emergency, but no-one wants this gas plant. Since Minister Taylor put the call out to the private sector not only did they not invest in this project but they announced a range of other renewable projects. Origin announced a 700-megawatt battery at their Lake Macquarie site. Neoen have announced a 500-megawatt battery in the central tablelands. And CEP Energy have announced their intent to build a 1,200-megawatt battery at Kurri Kurri, which is the very site for this proposed taxpayer boosted gas plant.

Despite the private sector seeing the writing on the wall and wanting to invest in stuff that stacks up and will make their money, in future, as it tackles the climate crisis, this government is pressing ahead. Despite all their protestations about being neutral, Minister Taylor has made it clear that he's not interested in dispatchable capacity unless it comes from gas. The government has even knocked back a wind farm with storage through NAIF, the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility, because it's competing against gas. All this talk from the government about technology over taxes is just a hollow slogan, because when the sector steps up and says, 'We will make up for the shortfall in the form of renewables and storage,' the minister says, 'No, I prefer gas; I'm going to take money that could be going to schools and hospitals and, instead, use it to force investment in fossil fuels.'

Last week, the G7 countries made it clear that not only should we be not subsidising fossil fuels or funding more fossil fuel projects with public money but we should have strong emissions reductions targets by 2030, targets that should be at least double what this government is proposing. Of course, we know the opposition doesn't even have a 2030 emissions reduction target. Australia just keeps flying in the face of the rest of the world and flying in the face of the energy market.

The public owns Snowy Hydro. We hold 100 per cent of the shares. The government has the power, right now, to tell Snowy Hydro to stop investing in new coal- and gas-fired power plants, and that would make this bill redundant. Minister Taylor could tell Snowy Hydro to invest in batteries instead. He could tell them to invest in renewables in the Hunter and Latrobe valleys. But we have a government that is not interested in addressing the climate emergency. It's not interested in keeping energy prices low, through renewables, which we know depress the market price, and it's not interested in keeping Australians safe. It's not interested in representing the over 70 per cent of Australians who want us to be a global leader in climate action. It's only interested in delivering for its donor mates and doing nothing to avert a climate disaster.

That's why, sadly, we need the legislation. The government has proven itself completely incapable of addressing the climate emergency and dealing with public money responsibly. So it falls to this parliament to hold them accountable. We cannot let the government invest taxpayer money in new gas. We cannot let the government build new gas infrastructure. We know that we must bring down carbon pollution rapidly if we are to have any hope of having a safe climate for everyone on this planet and the creatures that we share it with. This parliament must hold the government to that responsibility. That's why we are bringing this private member's bill on for debate today.

The notion that you would spend taxpayer dollars to invest in a gas-fired power station, when the rest of the world has just said we need to get off fossil fuels and we need to end fossil fuel subsidies, is sheer lunacy. You only have to look at the number of donations made to this government—and, sadly, to the opposition—by big gas companies to work out why that's their position. So much for technology neutral. This government is now boosting for gas, even though renewables will do the job far better, will create more jobs for workers, will help us deliver a safer climate and will make money for Snowy Hydro. No, this government just wants to deliver for its gas donor mates. It is reprehensible that in this day and age they want to spend public money on opening a new gas station that private companies will not touch with a barge pole because it is an economic doozy. Yet this government dances to the tune, once again, of its gas donors. It is appalling. If we were to do one thing in this parliament, it would be to end those dirty donations from the coal, gas and other fossil fuel sectors. We might start to get some semblance of a science based climate change policy if that were the case. But right now the money is running the show, and those vested interests are getting the policy that they pay for. And there will be some cushy lobbyist jobs to follow for many of the MPs when they leave this building and go to work for those rep bodies, whether it's APPEA or the gas lobby or whether it is those companies directly. It's just a disgusting triumph of private interest over the public interest of this planet and this nation, and that's why we commend this bill to the House.