Peter Whish-Wilson (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

You're probably squirming in your chair, over there, Senator Canavan, but let me continue—

Mate, you're always laughing when we talk about climate action and the importance of this for future generations. Mr Scott Morrison phoned in from a climate conference in Paris to deliver to the APPEA conference in Western Australia, at the time, via video link, 80,000 square kilometres of new ocean for oil and gas companies to go out there and explore. But you know what? It wasn't just the Liberal-National government. Last year the Labor government handed 46,000 square kilometres of oceans for oil and gas companies to go and explore as well.

While this Ocean Alliance was here yesterday, Zali Steggall, in the other place, tried to suspend standing orders to bring on a bill to ban the PEP-11 project that the Liberal-National government stopped. We know they stopped it because Scott Morrison used secret powers to stop it. That's how important the Prime Minister felt stopping an oil and gas project was. He knew it was political poison for the Liberal-National government in the last federal election.

It's also, by the way, the only fossil fuel project that Anthony Albanese, our Prime Minister, in the other place has publicly opposed. At the same time we're negotiating the passage of this legislation in the parliament, Minister King, the resources minister, in the other place yesterday was talking up the future of fossil fuels in this country. She talked up that she wanted to see exponential growth of oil and gas and coal in this country. So that's where the Labor Party are at. And I hope that it's noted by the Australian people.

I want to get this on the record today: thanks so much to the communities around this country—like those off King Island in Tasmania, off the Otways, off Western Australia, off the New South Wales coast and off South Australia in the Great Australian Bight—who are fighting to stop fossil fuel exploration. In particular, I want to thank Drew McPherson and Kate Coxall from the Surfrider Foundation; Lisa Deppeler from the Otway Climate Emergency Action Network, OCEAN; Uncle Rob Bundle from the Southern Ocean Protection Embassy Collective, SOPEC; Freja Leonard and Belinda Haydon from Friends of the Earth; and Craig Garland, who's well known to Senator Duniam, a Tasmanian fisherman who's a lot more than that. He's been an absolute champion for our oceans in Tasmania and elsewhere.

People know when they're being conned. Community Alliance were in here yesterday lobbying to try to stop new oil and gas projects. By coincidence, they're here the week we're to pass the safeguard legislation, the week after the IPCC report landed. They got to see Minister King, in the other place, talking up how Labor want to see more fossil fuel and gas development.

I want to make it clear today that the Greens have done a really good job, in really difficult conditions, to get some kind of improvement to this legislation that will make a difference. But it will not be enough. I call on all environmental groups around the country, all communities—anyone who cares about the future of climate and climate action—to hit the streets and let this government know that every single fossil fuel project they approve is not acceptable. And then, at the next election, vote for the Greens and crossbench MPs who do care about this. At the next election we can get the balance of power in both houses, and we will stop new fossil fuel development across the board.

That's my message today. I look forward to listening to the contributions now of other senators in the chamber—in silence and with respect.