Perin Davey (NSW, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

Yet again we have the Greens wanting us to strive for some ideal at the expense of jobs, industry and our community. Make no mistake: this is what we look forward to, potentially, under an Albanese-Greens coalition government. Seventy-five per cent emissions reduction by 2030 is the target the Greens are saying. Senator Gallagher refused to say that Labor would have a target for 2030 or to announce their target yet—but the Greens are doing it for you, Senator Gallagher. They want 75 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030. But what the Greens like to keep ignoring is what we have already achieved to date. I've spoken about it already today in this chamber, and I will continue to speak about it time and time again because I am sick to death of people ignoring what Australians have already done. I am sick to death of people from this nation saying Australians are laggards and denialists when so many Australians are not—not the National Party and certainly not regional Australians.

Of the 20 per cent emissions reduction that we have already achieved to date from 2005 levels, 71 per cent has come from agricultural land use changes and a reduction in agricultural emissions. Our agricultural industries have done the heavy lifting, and yet we have people over there on the crossbench trying to tell us that we should stop eating meat because cows fart. Well, excuse me. They're saying we should stop planting crops like rice because it uses too much water. They're saying we should make sure our farmers can't clear their land but that it's okay to clear 125 square kilometres in the centre of Australia for solar farms. The hypocrisy is unbelievable.

I want to focus today on agriculture and forestry, because forestry is part of the solution that keeps getting ignored by those on the crossbench. Forestry keeps getting closed down by those opposite and their state counterparts. Forestry is the best carbon sequestration you can have. The trees grow and they absorb carbon. Then you turn those trees into furniture, like what we are surrounded by here today. This room is sequestering tonnes of carbon forever. But those on the crossbench would rather us lock up land and just walk away. I can tell you, while that absorbs carbon in some stages, it plateaus at a certain point in time and it is not sequestered for good. It actually starts to become carbon positive.

We need to focus on what is actually going to achieve real outcomes, and what is achieving real outcomes is what our agricultural industry is doing. The work our meat industry has done with the CSIRO and James Cook University, developing new feed regimes for livestock, is leading to world-leading outcomes. Net greenhouse gas emissions from the red meat sector in Australia are less than half what they were in 2005. The red meat sector have cut their emissions by 50 per cent already. It is by far the greatest reduction by any single sector in Australia's economy. I congratulate them, and I congratulate the CSIRO for its world-leading work in this area.

Through our government's commitments, we are providing over $1 million to an agricultural science company called Sea Forest. This grant will allow them to upscale their production of seaweed additive for livestock feed so the livestock sector can continue to cut emissions. The work that CSIRO is doing with the agricultural sector on soil carbon sequestration through cropping regimes is world leading. Why aren't we talking about this? Why aren't we talking about these ground-breaking innovations that support existing industries and create new jobs and new research that we can sell to the world? But, no, they'd rather focus on the negatives. They would rather focus on the fact that we still have coalmines. And so we should. Because our coal is the highest-energy, lowest-emission coal in the world. I would rather see one of the 129 new coal-fired power stations currently being constructed around the world—in net zero countries—burn our higher-energy, lower-emissions coal than dirty brown coal from another nation that emits more. I would rather see Australia use our gas—our natural resources—to produce blue hydrogen than burn dirtier products with higher emissions to do the same.

We've got Jeff Bezos and Richard Branson going around saying, 'Aren't we good.' They're flying off into space in, yes, hydrogen powered rockets. Congratulations. The only pollution from those rockets is oxygen and water—very clean. Read the fine print. With that hydrogen that they are using to produce enough hydrogen to power those rockets, they need to burn fossil fuel. That's because industry isn't ready and can't yet produce enough green hydrogen for those rockets. But we're all putting Bezos on a pedestal because he's exploring the new frontier. I actually agree with Prince William on this. We need to focus on this planet, before we start ruining other planets.

I have grave concerns about the thought of mining the moon. I don't want to mine the moon. But I have no problems, in this country, when we know we need more lithium to produce the batteries that will underpin our renewable energy. I am very proud that Australia is one of the largest lithium producers in the world. I am very proud of our mineral sands resources sector that is producing the silicon, the silica and the other core ingredients so that we can actually have renewable power and electric vehicles.

So mining always will be part of the solution, and that includes our coalmining. Agriculture is part of our solution. Agriculture has already done the heavy lifting in Australia. The worst thing we can do to our agricultural sector is a repeat of what we signed up for with Kyoto. The worst thing we can do is tell our farmers: no, you can't clear that paddock that has the opportunity for soil carbon sequestration and food production. Let's not forget: Oxfam released a report in August raising red flags, because to plant enough trees to reach net zero—if you're just relying on planting trees—you will stop feeding the world. We are at risk of a food shortage. We need to work out how our agriculture can be a part of the solution, so that we can continue to feed the world. I'm not just talking about meat. Vegans need plants. It takes a lot of water to grow a soy crop. It takes a lot of soil carbon for that soy crop, but then it can be put back into the soil. We need to be working with our industries and embracing the innovations and the new technologies they have, and embracing the opportunities that a low-emissions future presents. I am not against a low-emissions future. What I am against is a blank cheque that allows people to trounce our industries, our people, and our communities, and that says, 'We will sign up to net zero at any cost.' I don't believe in ' at any cost'. I believe in opportunity. I believe in technology, not taxes.