Don Farrell (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Trade and Tourism) Share this | Hansard source

Thanks, Senator Sterle. You come from a great resources state, and I know you've got a great interest in this sector. Today the West Australian has reported that—the West Australian, of course, is a Western Australian newspaper and a fine newspaper—'billions of dollars of investment in WA's gas industry are at risk as the Senate holds up legislation'. These actions by the Liberals and the Nationals are nothing short of astonishing. Faced with the choice of supporting investment certainty in carbon capture and storage, the Liberals and the Nationals chose to side with the Greens.

The International Energy Agency, the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and the Climate Change Authority have all said that carbon capture and storage will play an important role in helping achieve net zero. We believe in climate action, but the Liberals and the Nationals continue to bury their heads in the sand. Like every aspect of energy policy, those opposite comprehensively fail on the issue of emissions reduction. So what do those opposite believe? Do they support regulatory certainty, or do they not? Do they want affordable and reliable energy, or don't they? No. The answer is no. The actions of those opposite are putting Australian projects at risk. This means they are putting Australian jobs at risk. The Liberals and the Nationals talk about investment, but they don't believe in it. (Time expired)