Sarah Hanson-Young (SA, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

If you ever needed a better example of how much hate there is in the Liberal and National party, led by Mr Dutton, this is it. There is not a renewable energy idea, project or power source that this coalition doesn't hate. They hate renewable energy because they're a bunch of climate deniers. They hate renewable energy because they don't want Australians making power in their own homes for cheap. They hate renewable energy because they are doing the grubby work of the fossil fuel industry. The fossil fuel industry are making an absolute motza by charging people ridiculous amounts for the use of coal and gas. They don't want people putting solar panels on their roofs or being able to put batteries on their homes, because then the people will not be paying the corporations. That's what's going on here. The big coal and gas companies want to keep making more money off the backs of hardworking Australians, households and small businesses.

The whole world is looking at the climate catastrophe that is coming, knowing that we have to stop polluting the planet and that there is an alternative for clean, green energy, and it's wind, solar and storage. The rest of the world is looking at this and saying: 'You know what? We need to start transitioning, because our planet is in crisis, our climate is at boiling point and our environment is suffering.' Climate change is here. It's already having a significant impact: the floods, the droughts, the bushfires, the famine, the heatwaves and the king wave storms that are ruining coastal homes around the world. The climate crisis is here, and it's already having a very real and dangerous impact on people's lives and livelihoods.

The fossil fuel industry are freaking out. They're worried. They're worried that they are not going to be able to keep polluting and making money from that pollution, because they know the community across the world is saying no. So who do they go to? They run to the coalition—to Mr Dutton and to Barnaby Joyce—and they say, 'Please'—