Dean Smith (WA, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Competition, Charities and Treasury) Share this | Hansard source

In the very brief time that is available to me I want to add my voice to what I think is a very important, and now urgent, inquiry that should be done by the Australian Senate. I think all of us from around the chamber would agree that the Senate committee process is a very powerful and effective way of making sure that views from a variety of stakeholders are properly accommodated and that ideas and decisions of government are properly interrogated.

It's somewhat difficult to understand why some people wouldn't allow an inquiry of this nature to proceed. The Albanese government's reckless rush to 82 per cent renewables by 2030 is making traditional owners, farmers and fishers across regional Australia early casualties of this plan for energy transition. At the very core of this are issues of equity, fairness and proper compensation for the disturbance of agricultural land or, indeed, its compulsory acquisition.

There can be no more important issues than the issues of fairness, equity, the disturbance of agricultural land and the produce it produces. That should be enough to warrant a Senate inquiry of the nature and form that Senator Colbeck and Senator Cadell have proposed. With other coalition senators—we've heard them today and we've heard on previous occasions—I also add my voice to the importance and urgency of this Senate inquiry.

Debate interrupted.