David Pocock (ACT, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak in support of the Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage Amendment (Fight for Australia's Coastline) Bill 2022, and I thank Senator Whish-Wilson for his leadership on this. I thank him for this opportunity to talk about what is such an important issue to Australians across the country. The IPCC and the International Energy Agency have been clear; the climate science is clear: we cannot afford any new fossil fuel projects. In this place and elsewhere, you'll hear that weaponised by the major parties, saying, 'If you say we shouldn't have any new fossil fuel projects, you are against fossil fuels; you want to take us back to the Stone Age.' That is not correct.

What Senator Whish-Wilson's bill, as I read it, is proposing is that, on PEP-11—where there is broad consensus from communities affected and from scientists and a very clear commitment at the election from the now Prime Minister that this will not go ahead—we should rule it out; we should stop this happening and we should stop digging, given we're in such a big hole when it comes to climate change. We shouldn't be exploring for new fossil fuel projects at the moment. We simply cannot afford to do that.

It's clear that there is strong local opposition to this project. I listened to Senator Ayres describing this sort of approach, opposing individual projects, as wrongheaded. I would respectfully disagree and say that there are thousands of Australians across the country that, because of a failure by the major parties when it comes to a sensible, timely response to climate change, have been forced to take a project-by-project approach, trying to stop damaging projects that are going to damage the local area and community but then also contribute, as was pointed out, to the global climate crisis, where we desperately need leadership. We need Australia to step up and say, 'Okay, no new fossil fuel projects.' It's been a big part of our economy in the past, but resources can and will still be a big part of it in the future. We can move into critical minerals. We can start processing iron ore here. There is a really exciting future for our resources sector, but not if we see the kind of climate that we hear scientists predicting, where we will be facing a mounting and spiralling climate breakdown and the types of extreme weather events that we're already seeing in Australia.

This 'wrongheaded' approach has been taken by farmers who stood up against Whitehaven's Maules Creek coalmine in Leard State Forest, which went ahead—in a critically endangered ecosystem—and farmers who stood up against Shenhua's proposed coalmine on the Liverpool Plains, one of our best farming areas. Those farmers were successful. They stopped that, and they celebrated that victory. We have ongoing pushback against Santos's CSG project in the Pilliga. Farmers, First Nations people—Gamilaraay people—are pushing against this new fossil fuel development in the largest intact dry eucalypt forest in Australia.

In 2023, given what we know about climate change, given the summer that we've just gone through—I would hate to know how little time Minister Watt has had with his family, given it seems that he's just flying from one extreme weather event to the next, having to talk to communities who are being impacted by climate change. This is here now. And, if we're willing to listen to scientists, we know it's not getting any better. We have to take decisive action on this.

We can't have our cake and eat it too when it comes to the climate crisis. We can't say, 'We've got adults back in charge'—as we've heard many times—'and we're going to deal with this crisis, but at the same time we're going to keep exploring for coal, oil and gas.' We've got Beetaloo, Browse and Scarborough coming online, we've got Narrabri which needs to be fast-tracked—we can't have it. Australians are saying, 'We want elected representatives to start dealing with this in a way that actually reflects the challenge that we face.' This is a huge, huge challenge. It's not going to be easy. We need politicians leading on this.

Again, I want to go back to how important it is that decisions that are made in this place are in the best interests of Australians. The former government argued against having a duty of care to young people. I, frankly, find that mind blowing. If we're not in this place to make decisions that are good for young Australians, that are good for future generations of Australians, what are we here for? Every morning we talk about thinking about future Australians and making decisions. New fossil fuel projects are not that. They are not that, and Australians expect more. We've heard about reputational risk. The biggest reputational risk we face as elected representatives is what we do on the climate and biodiversity crisis. There are many other challenges we face, and there is much attention being put on them, but future generations will judge us on our actions now.

We have never known more about the challenge that we face. We are one of the last generations to be able to actually deal with it, to make the changes necessary, to show the leadership that is necessary on a global challenge. It's happened before, and we have an opportunity to do that today. I urge the new government to step up and show leadership on this. Leadership is following through on your promises. It's ensuring that you're actually looking after the people who elected you to represent them.

Before the election, the now Prime Minister, talking about PEP-11, said:

Absolutely, we will stop PEP-11 going ahead, full stop. Exclamation mark. No question. Not equivocal. No ifs, no buts.

That was on the Central Coast. Here's a bill that will do that. Here's a bill that will respond to the millions of Australians who are concerned about climate change, the young people who are protesting and the young people who took the federal government to court, saying, 'You should be thinking about us when you make these sorts of laws'—the kind of bill that we're debating today. You can say to them: 'We hear you. You shouldn't have to protest. Politicians should be looking after your futures.' We have an opportunity today to do just that. I thank Senator Whish-Wilson for his leadership on this matter, and I will be supporting this bill.