Sarah Hanson-Young (SA, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to contribute to this debate on the Treasury Laws Amendment (Cyclone and Flood Damage Reinsurance Pool) Bill 2022, a bill that is being debated when we are seeing the effects of the climate crisis before our very eyes. The climate has changed. These floods that we have experienced and witnessed—and that, sadly, many have lost their homes and their livelihoods as a result of—have been fuelled by the climate crisis.

I take the opportunity today to contribute to this debate because something extraordinary happened in this place yesterday: the Environment and Communications References Committee was forced to make an interim report about the conduct of a US company. This was part of the inquiry into the Beetaloo basin. This US company, Tamboran, has just in the last month received $7.5 million in public money from the Morrison government. This company—which has a wholly owned subsidiary, Sweetpea Petroleum, registered to a notorious tax secrecy jurisdiction in Delaware—is now involved in getting public money from the Morrison government to frack in the Beetaloo basin.

As part of the Senate inquiry into the Beetaloo drilling program, the committee wrote to this company on three occasions, inviting them to appear and to answer questions in light of receiving this public money. With the first two requests, the company replied, saying they did not want to appear. The last request invited them to reconsider, and there was a delay in the response, but they again refused and made the claim:

… we understand we are absolutely entitled not to appear if we wish.

Let me be very clear about this. A Senate inquiry asked a company that is in receipt of public money to appear before us at a hearing to answer questions, and this company says it doesn't have to come. The committee then resolved to issue a summons to compel this company to attend.