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

I'm not surprised that this MPI has been brought to this chamber by Senator O'Sullivan today. What we heard this morning from Minister King was that gas isn't making it to the eastern seaboard because the pipes aren't there, the infrastructure is not there. No-one in the Australian public should that that's true. Eighty per cent of the gas from this country goes overseas for export.

In my home state of Western Australia—and Senator O'Sullivan should know this—the Western Australian parliament have looked into the domestic gas arrangement from the Burrup Peninsula on behalf of Woodside. They're not even fulfilling the 15 per cent they're supposed to under that agreement without any consequences. So they're pumping it offshore, fracking and sending it overseas. They're selling it on, in fact. When we sell it to the Japanese, they're selling our gas to other countries. While we're in a cost-of-living crisis and Australians are doing it tough, the gas cartels of this country are rubbing their hands together. In fact, Minister King, the Minister for Resources, was asked this morning, 'Are you going to pull the trigger on the mechanism that this government created not to put Australians in hardship?' They're having a conversation, and it's a bit of a smokescreen about nuclear.

Nuclear is a pipeline dream. The thing about that is that it's such a serious conversation we should be having about nuclear because it's about safety in Australian communities, in the seven communities that they've picked off the map and said, 'We'll go there, and we'll go there for nuclear reactors.' It's the most expensive form of energy. It is not going to help Australians tomorrow today who are doing it hard with their electricity bills. It is not. The 82 per cent renewable target, yes, great—43 per cent by 2030—but they're still opening up offshore gas fields. Minister King and Minister Plibersek are still opening gas fields and approving coalmines in this country. This wreck and delay strategy is what's wearing absolutely thin. It's wearing thin for Australians that are doing it hard. And if the two majors cared about that, they wouldn't be on a unity ticket right now creating this smoke screen that is leading to the price hikes in this country and the energy shortage. It's time to join the 21st century.