Dorinda Cox (WA, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to make a contribution on today's matter of urgency. This week the Prime Minister has made it clear that the coalition won't take 2030 targets to Glasgow, so don't be fooled by the coalition's sudden interest in those 2050 net zero targets. It's all smoke and mirrors. Net zero by 2050 is too late and, worst of all, it's based on expanding coal and gas. Just this month in my home state of Western Australia—and also don't be fooled by the two Labor senators who have left the chamber who have already spoken about the 'wonderful' Labor government in my home state—an exemption was granted to a Texan company called Black Mountain to drill for gas in the Kimberley. This is despite the government having announced an onshore gas export ban in August 2020. What's the point in having a ban on gas exports if the government can just go ahead and overturn it and approve them anyway? It's estimated that fracking in the Canning Basin alone could release 13.5 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent gases into the atmosphere. Australia's emissions budget is compatible with the Paris Agreement, which is only 5.5 billion tonnes of CO2e, which is three times that, just for the maths.

At a time when we should be dramatically reducing emissions, it's unbelievable that the McGowan government is giving the green light to new gas developments in Western Australia. The community don't want fracking in the Kimberley. The traditional owners are sending me messages saying, 'We do not want fracking in the Kimberley.' No-one in this community has invited gas companies into their region. Fracking poses a risk to the health of the waterways, our land, our country. The damage it will cause the Kimberley will be absolutely horrific. And to what end? So we can wreck the planet and line the pockets of billionaires? As we move closer to the point of no return on climate change, we need urgent action and leadership from all Australian governments and all sides of politics. Although people in this chamber will argue, the science is clear: a safer climate means no coal and gas, and they must go. We need formally legislated 2030 targets of 75 per cent, and we need a plan to phase out coal and gas, starting today.

Action on climate change won't hurt our economy, contrary to what others have said. In the UK, emissions have plummeted by 40 per cent since 1990, while their economy has doubled in size. The UK have a population three times the size of Australia's, and yet they make only two-thirds of the emissions that we do. A clean energy revolution will create hundreds of thousands of well-paid, long-term jobs, enabling workers in fossil fuel industries to transition. To unlock this revolution, the government must lead the way with a public investment in renewable generation, storage and transforming the power grid. WA has the opportunity to be a powerhouse for renewable energy. Now is the time to start planning for a just transition, in partnership with communities, so we can harness this opportunity. Even the Nationals leader in Western Australia, Mia Davies, has talked, only nine days ago, about committing to those targets. We have Victoria and the National Farmers Federation talking about these targets and committing to those targets, alongside the Minerals Council of Australia.

Last week thousands of young people across the nation participated in the School Strike 4 Climate. I joined hundreds of those young people at the front of Parliament House in Perth, talking about and taking part in that collective action. Using their voice to demand change, young people are the next generation of decision-makers and leaders, and they are our inspiration and our hope. So let's work together to kick out the Liberals at the next election, alongside the Nationals. With the Greens in shared power, we'll be able to push the next government further and faster on climate action.