Dorinda Cox (WA, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That the Senate take note of the answer given by the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (Senator Watt) to a question without notice I asked today relating to environmental approvals.

I know that Minister Watt will say that the government reject this notion—the notion that I have put to them. This is the government's first legislative act since the referendum on a voice to parliament, yet they seek to continue to silence the voices of First Nations people in this place. Minister King's office have told me—as have DISR, the department under her direction—that the consultation is ongoing. It is ongoing, but they are not speaking to the right people. They have 200 names of native title groups, organisations, industry, environmental groups, but no names of the First Nations people who are challenging these offshore gas projects in the Federal Court—no Tipakalippa, no Burke, no Cooper. I asked the department directly in Senate estimates two weeks ago as this bill was coming on, because I knew that, of the eight technical amendments that this minister is hoping to put through, one of the major ones is about the EPBC. It's about environmental approvals and seeking to water down the approvals that are already there.

I reject Minister Watt's comments around this not being fast-tracking. In his words, putting them on the record, 'No. This is not about fast-tracking offshore gas projects.' It sure will be if this gets through—if it gets through the House and it gets through this place on a deal with the opposition about PRRT. And we know how broken that system is, because a teacher and a nurse pay more tax than the big gas cartel in this country. That's the deal that they will do with the opposition.

The FOI in Saturday's paper talks directly to and adds to the sea-dumping bill in the exposure that we had in this very chamber by Minister Wong: 'You've let IMPEX down. You've let Woodside down. You've let Santos down.' We've heard it all come out, and it continues. It continued in that FOI that was released. It was about Santos.

Question agreed to.