Penny Allman-Payne (Queensland, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

Senator Sterle, in his remarks just previously, said that the government is acting like the grown-up. I don't think that's the badge of honour that Senator Sterle thinks it is. According to scientists quoted in a report by CNN, humanity has just lived through the hottest 12 months in at least 125,000 years. The article says:

Month after month since June, the world has been abnormally hot. Scientists have compared this year's climate-change fallout to "a disaster movie"—soaring temperatures, fierce wildfires, powerful storms and devastating floods—and new data is now revealing just how exceptional the global heat has been.

In the last couple of weeks, Gladstone in Central Queensland, where I live, has been surrounded by fires and its air has been thick with smoke. In southern Queensland we've had fires that have already—before the end of October—taken people's lives. We are in a climate emergency. It is the era of global boiling. Far from the 'grown-ups' in the government taking serious action to end coal, oil and gas and stopping the opening of new coal, oil and gas projects, they are still actively facilitating their expansion and ongoing production. It's not the adults in the government who are taking action; it's young people out on the streets. It's School Strike 4 Climate and young people taking governments to court for not protecting their future. I don't actually mind, to be honest, not being called the adult, because, as a teacher who has taught young people for 30 years, I actually think young people are pretty great. Right now, they know where the climate's at.

Senator Sterle also said this bill is about regulatory certainty. Well, what is certain is that, as the Environment Centre NT have observed, this bill represents the Albanese government's collusion with and active pursuit of this gas industry strategy, including the 'greenwashing of significant fossil fuel expansion plans in Australia.' In their submission to the inquiry by the Environment and Communications Legislation Committee into the provisions of the bill, they said it 'prolongs dependence on fossil fuels and delays their replacement with renewable alternatives'. They said it 'creates environmental, health and safety risks for communities with CCS infrastructure'.

The Wilderness Society, in their submission, urged the government to deliver overdue reforms to the EPBC Act ahead of fossil fuel industry demands. They said:

It is disappointing that the Albanese government has created space within its environmental legislative agenda for this before effective, future focused environment laws that would actually help the environment are brought forward. Urgent environmental matters lay dormant while the needs of the fossil fuel industry leap ahead of the queue.

The Environmental Defenders Office said it is of the view:

… policies such as CCS and geoengineering carry the risk of justifying ongoing use and extraction of fossil fuels, and strongly recommends they should not be promoted or encouraged in order to sustain the life of the fossil fuel industry. CCS in particular also carries significant risk of additional and unintentional emissions pollution in its operation, while the environmental and social risks of large scale geoengineering remain unknown.

Given all of that—given that we know CCS as a technology is not proven at scale and that this bill will actively facilitate those companies like Santos who are donating massive amounts of money to the big political parties and haven't paid any tax—I draw your attention, Minister, to the Production gap report 2023, which said in relation to Australia:

There is no national policy framework aiming to restrict fossil fuel exploration, production, or infrastructure development.

Considering this bill seems to be expanding fossil fuel exploration, production and infrastructure development, how is this current bill consistent with the government's stated net-zero commitments?