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

I rise to speak to the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Amendment (Climate Trigger) Bill 2022 [No. 2], introduced by Senator Hanson-Young, and to associate myself with the comments of Senators Waters and David Pocock.

Labor say that they won't support this bill, and that's disappointing, because it means that the government is out of step with community sentiment. The community overwhelmingly wants us to take more action on climate, so, when the Greens and other members of the crossbench come into this place and talk about the need for more action, we are speaking for our communities. Senator Gallagher said in her contribution that the government wants to end the climate wars. Well, I think, after listening to the contributions of Senator Canavan and Senator Hughes, it is clear that the climate wars will never be over in the coalition. If we wait for that to happen to act with the urgency that is required, we will never get there.

The Greens never said that action on climate ended with the passing of the climate legislation when we first came to parliament at the start of this term. We were clear that it was just the start and that we would continue to fight to stop the opening of new coal and gas in this country. The minister read out a long list of the actions that the government is taking on the environment. Whilst those are welcome, the hard, cold truth is that it will be for naught if we continue to approve new coal and gas.

Senator Canavan said that we should just not worry about it, that it's just going to happen and we can't do anything about it. I'm sure that will bring great comfort to the people of his home state of Queensland, who have just suffered through multiple cyclones and floods and storms! Tell that to the families who were sitting on a table at 2 am, waiting for five hours as floodwaters rose around them, wondering if they were going to be able to get help. Tell that to the woman in North Queensland who was panicking when we showed up to help because her carpets were sodden and needed to be ripped out, but she was worried about whether she would be penalised and evicted by her landlord for taking the action that's required immediately after a flood. Tell that to the thousands of people in Queensland who either can't get insurance for their homes or, in the course of the next six months, are going to get an insurance renewal that they will not be able to afford.

The climate wars will never be over in the coalition, and we should stop listening to them. The government should stop listening to them in stopping further action. We don't have time to take it slow and steady. That time has passed, and a government that is fearful of what will happen in the future if they lose power is not a government that is making the decisions that are required for the urgency—