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

I move:

That, in the opinion of the Senate, the following is a matter of urgency: Pursuant to standing order 75, I give notice that today the Australian Greens propose to move "That, in the opinion of the Senate, the following is a matter of urgency:

That the Government must withdraw its $1.5 billion subsidy to support a gas export terminal and petrochemical hub in Darwin's Middle Arm. This is not a Future Made in Australia."

This motion put forward by Senator McKim is an important motion and one of urgency for this chamber, because we have the current government wanting to spend $1. 5 billion of public money on a project in Darwin Harbour that the community is worried about, concerned about and doesn't support. Furthermore, without being fixed, it would drive the climate crisis to be even worse.

What this particular Middle Arm project would do is act as a supercharger for the extraction of new gas, fracking and the export of fossil fuels at a time when we know that the climate crisis requires courage and leadership from governments right around the world to stop making the climate crisis worse, to stop extracting more fossil fuels, to stop pouring fuel on the fire. The International Energy Agency says, 'We will not be able to arrest dangerous global warming if we keep opening up new coal and gas mines.' And what this Middle Arm precinct in the Darwin Harbour will do is give a very strong signal for the supercharging of the expansion of fossil fuels. No wonder so many Territorians are worried about this.

This Saturday is election day in the Northern Territory, and Territorians have the opportunity to send a very strong message to both the Labor Party and the Liberal Party that they don't want their Darwin Harbour trashed for the sake of further expansion of fossil fuels. They don't want their health and their community and their children's future to be sold out to the gas lobby. We know, because we've heard from the health experts and we've heard from the doctors, that the Middle Arm Project, as currently designed—an export hub for gas; a petrochemical hub—will be a toxic pollution factory only kilometres from Darwin residents and their suburbs.

There is $1.5 billion of taxpayer money being used to create a toxic petrochemical hub right in the heart of Darwin. There is $1.5 billion of taxpayer money being spent trashing the Darwin Harbour. The tourism industry and the fishing industry in Darwin are worried about the impact that this toxic pollution, this toxic hub is going to have on their businesses and on their local environment. The Middle Arm gas hub is a threat to human health, clean air, safe water and, of course, our climate.

Territorians want their government to listen. Recently, when a Senate inquiry was up in the Darwin area looking into this particular project, seeing how $1.5 billion of taxpayer money was going to be spent, we were inundated with strong community concern. Hundreds of residents spoke out, talked to us as a committee, wanted to engage, wanted to have their voices heard. They're angry that they are being ignored by the current Labor Territorian government and the current Liberal opposition. They're angry that rather than spending $1.5 billion on helping Darwin become a renewable hub, a place where the environment is looked after and celebrated, rather than an injection into local tourism, into local culture, into fixing the hospital system, housing, the education system—all of the things that $1.5 billion could go to helping the local community in Darwin—they are furious that $1.5 billion of taxpayer money is being spent helping the fossil fuel industry expand.

The Environment Protection Authority in Darwin is turning a blind eye to the very real risks to the environment and human health too. People are furious that the doctors warning signs are being ignored. People are furious that the government is ignoring their concerns about what this means for clean air and clean water. Darwin already has an air quality problem, and this toxic hub will only make it worse.