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

I rise to contribute to this debate on the safeguards mechanism. Coal and gas have taken a huge hit. It's no mistake. You only have to read the papers over the last few days. We have stopped nearly half of the 116 new fossil fuel projects that are currently in the pipeline. By doing what we have, we have ensured that in fact pollution will go down as part of these amendments. We have derailed the Beetaloo and the Barossa projects, and we've negotiated amendments, not dirty deals as the opposition have alluded to—I think that's pretty rich coming from their side—so that we've prevented more public money from being sucked into coal and gas projects in this country, unlike their gas-led recovery that they did during COVID. So I want to be really clear that this is actually a very huge win for the planet, but there's still lots of work to do. Currently there are lots of industry based grant funds that are being given to fossil fuel projects through the climate crisis. This is absolutely unacceptable.

Our amendments will ensure that grants under the Industry Research and Development Act 1986 are not given to any more coal and gas projects in this country. There is now one less pocket of public money that's going to these greedy corporations to dip into. That should be a good win for the public interest. That's what this place represents. We know that 47 per cent of the current emissions covered by this scheme come from fossil fuel companies. That is no mistake. It's not something we over here at the Greens have made up; it's actually the science. It's important to note that this is the current emissions. This does not actually account for new entrants—the ones that are also in the pipeline, ready to be approved. From the outset, it's already posed that there's a significant problem that the government has identified. The Greens agree that this is a problem in relation to our emissions. In the middle of a climate crisis, the Labor government will still look at these projects, and we over here at the Greens will still fight ferociously for rest of those projects in the pipeline to be shut down. The safeguard mechanism, before the Greens secured these wins, would have allowed that to happen. We have put the handbrake on this, and we're not ashamed to say that.

Our amendments include a hard cap on emissions, meaning real pollution will come down and the coal and gas corporations can't buy their way out of the cap with the dodgy offsets. To compliment this change, there will also be a pollution trigger, which will now require new coal and gas projects to be assessed against the hard cap, and they can be stopped based on their impact on the climate. How hard is that? It's not rocket science. If you don't meet the hard cap, you cannot continue. You should not proceed to your final investment decision in these projects. This will be the first time since the safeguard mechanism was established under Tony Abbott that we can have confidence that pollution will actually come down in this country.

Abating emissions on site should be a priority for industries across this country that are captured under this mechanism. We understand that reductions can't happen overnight. That is a reality, so some offsets will be needed. However, they should in fact be the last resort. In cases where either emissions cannot be abated on site or there still needs to be a small buffer while there is technology being developed and implemented, this is the only time we should see offsets used.

There have been significant concerns raised about the integrity of these dodgy offsets, particularly with the human induced regeneration by the ACCU issue. The Greens have also heard these concerns. We have secured a pause on these credits until they are actually going through an independent audit. We think that's important.

This could take up to a quarter of future offsets off the table, which will force companies to cut pollution onsite. That is what it's meant to do. We are in a climate crisis. This is urgent. We're not in a casual walk towards climate action. We should be in a sprint, and that is what was said last week in the IPCC report. Climate action is needed, and it's needed now. Further, companies will have to report on and justify the use of their offsets to ensure this, which will help prevent greenwashing—the greenwashing that we have seen presented to us in this chamber. In the 18 months that I've represented the resources portfolio on behalf of the Australian Greens, I have seen more greenwashing than I have in my lifetime. We have to ensure that we are addressing that. Fracking in the Beetaloo and the development of the Barossa gas field have been derailed. They are now having to justify to their investors why this is still a viable option. Tamboran, who are the proponents for the Beetaloo project, will be forced to offset all of their emissions from day one, adding an estimated $1 billion a year. And Santos, who are the proponents for the Barossa gas field, will be forced to offset all of its CO2 emissions.

This is a big day for the Greens movement as we continue to work alongside the government, but it's an even bigger day for traditional owners, First Nations people who never gave their free, prior and informed consent. We have challenged that. They have challenged that in the Beetaloo and in the Barossa gas fields. I've stood in solidarity with some of those traditional owners and campaigners, and what great grassroots campaigns they have run. They have run these against the gas giants in this country, and they've taken the challenge right up to them. I want to congratulate the eight Tiwi clan groups led, by the Munupi clan in the Tiwi Islands. This is a moment they can share in. Last night I had a wonderful conversation because they are now seeing a glimmer of light, another opportunity of hope for them to make sure that land and sea country across this country is not being destroyed by the state capture of the two major parties in this place who continue to fund fossil fuel projects in this country.

We know that the Beetaloo and the Barossa gas field are not the only threats to our climate. Traditional owners from Narrabri, Otway and, in my home state, the Scarborough project up on the Burrup Peninsula and the Kimberley are continuing the fight. The Barossa and the Beetaloo are some of the biggest projects that are the closest to production. They have the biggest targets, which is why we focused our negotiations on them. Both of these are climate bombs, and they are equally linked to—funnily enough—the dirty Middle Arm hub that's proposed in Larrakia country in Darwin. The impacts of these projects will flow on to Middle Arm, and we all remember the debate we had about Middle Arm, where the government and the opposition sat together against us trying to ask for information about why Middle Arm was even approved. We remember question time when I asked Minister Watt about the use of petrochemicals in the wording, and the greenwashing that was put up by the Northern Territory and the federal governments. But rest assured the Greens are still here fighting. We're fighting against Scarborough, we're fighting against Narrabri, we're fighting against the Browse Basin, we're fighting against fracking in the Kimberley and we're against so many other projects. We will continue to fight.

Indeed, we may have already wiped out some of these with the hard cap, and that is a great move and a great start. I'm so proud of the work that's gone into these negotiations. The opposition can try and paint that up any way you want, but we are proud that we have been able to negotiate these with the government. We know that the people are with us. We are in solidarity with First Nations people across this country. We are in solidarity with climate scientists, our Pacific Island neighbours and the majority of people who should and do believe that we are in a climate crisis. We should be shutting down coal and gas projects across this country and, particularly, not opening up any new ones. This shows that we can work with the government on much needed improvements, and Labor's safeguard is better now because of the work that we have been able to collaborate on. I'm sorry that the opposition is sitting there blank faced, not wanting to hear that. We will keep pushing. We will keep campaigning on the ground with people. We will create a movement that is serious about climate action, and we will continue to deliver. Thank you.