David Pocock (ACT, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

Minister, I'm very concerned that what you've just highlighted and gone over essentially reinforces the concerns of someone like Minister Regenvanu. You talked again about being part of the Pacific family, the challenges of the transition and all of those sorts of things, but you don't acknowledge that expanding the fossil fuel industry essentially means not only that the futures of these Pacific island nations are not looking good but that they very likely face an existential threat in the decades and centuries ahead.

You've highlighted one of the glaring inconsistencies and, I would argue, ways that the Labor Party has just swallowed the talking points of the gas industry. You've talked about the need for stability as a trading partner. I don't understand how ruling out new gas projects under this legislation somehow undermines trade stability, because surely trading partners aren't banking on unapproved projects. It takes a long time to get a gas project up and running, sure. We export almost three-quarters of our gas. The amount of gas used just to compress and liquefy that gas for export is more than every Australian household uses, and yet Labor and the coalition are very happy to go around saying, 'We need more gas. We might run out! What about Australian households?' despite this situation being a total failure of this parliament to reserve some of our gas for domestic consumption. So not only are we exporting 75 per cent of our gas and being told that we need more gas for export, to make these record profits for gas companies, but we are also being told that we can't possibly transition away from gas.

I genuinely think it's this sort of legislation that is not only undermining the future of our Pacific island neighbours, given we're hearing that there are gas companies flooding the phones and saying that this legislation needs to pass the Senate, but undermining our relationship with the Pacific. As we've seen, that has real security implications for us, because if Australia is not a trusted partner, the partner of choice that Pacific island nations know will do what we say we're going do, they'll look elsewhere. What's the benefit for them?

I'd like to go back to Minister Regenvanu's words:

Our ability to adapt will be made impossible by Australia's hypocritical gas expansion plans. Vanuatu has been at the forefront of climate action—we led a coalition of countries to secure an advisory opinion on climate change from the United Nations International Court of Justice, and we are working towards a fossil fuel free Pacific.

At great cost, we are decarbonising our shipping register. We understand that climate action may require short term adjustments and we are willing to do that. I'm not confident that all countries share our resolve.

The Pacific Island nations are in desperate need of genuine allies who will stand with us in our fight for survival. Australia, with its financial resources and international influence, should be such an ally. However, for Australia to be seen as a credible leader of climate talks, it must first resolve glaring inconsistencies in its climate policies.

The fact is that Australia remains the world's third-largest fossil fuel exporter, with 116 new coal and gas projects in the pipeline, some of which are slated to operate until at least 2070. This persistence in fossil fuel expansion is fundamentally at odds with the spirit of the Paris Agreement and poses a direct threat to the climate goals set by the international community.

Australia's bid to lead Cop31 is a momentous opportunity for the nation to prove its dedication to addressing the global climate crisis. The world is watching, and the Pacific Island nations are looking for unwavering support, not empty promises.

Minister, I have two questions. Firstly, does this legislation risk undermining our relationships with Pacific island nations, given that we have heard gas companies are calling senators asking for this to pass? Secondly, has the minister received representation from Pacific island nations about this legislation?