Richard Colbeck (Tasmania, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I, and also on behalf of Senator Cadell, move:

That, noting the importance of ensuring that the National Electricity Grid has the capacity to provide a reliable and secure supply of energy to Australians as the economy transitions to new and more dispersed methods of generations and storage, and acknowledging that transition will necessarily transgress on agricultural, Indigenous and environmental lands and marine environments, the following matters be referred to the Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport References Committee for inquiry and report by 1 December 2023:

(a) power imbalance between Indigenous landholders, farmers and fishers and government and energy companies seeking to compulsorily acquire or access their land or fishing grounds;

(b) terms and conditions for compulsory access and acquisition;

(c) fairness of compensation;

(d) options for development of a fair national approach to access and acquisition;

(e) options to maintain and ensure the rights of farmers and fishers to maintain and ensure productivity of agriculture and fisheries; and

(f) any other matter.

Previously when moving a similar motion to this we said that we would be persistent in this matter because we believe it is important, and we are true to our word. It's interesting to note—and I take care in reflecting on a vote of the Senate—that a number of anti-industry Senate inquiries have been established in this place of late, supported by both the government and the Greens, but there's genuine reluctance to support motions that are supportive of industry, particularly primary industries. We had a motion earlier today to set up an inquiry to attack development in the Northern Territory at Middle Arm. On the motion of the Greens, supported by the government—