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

I rise to contribute my thoughts in relation to the Climate Change Authority's Sector pathways review 2024 and, like Senator Waters, I am extremely disappointed. All the promises that were made by the Albanese government to take climate change seriously and to act seriously are becoming harder and harder to believe every time this government approves the opening of a new coalmine or gas mine. There have been 23 so far under this government, yet we know that, if we are to arrest dangerous global warming, we have to stop making the problem worse.

The International Energy Agency, the United Nations and every expert around the world—the scientists, the energy experts—are all telling governments like Australia's that you can't keep opening new coalmines and gas mines and you can't keep creating new fossil fuel industry if you want to stop global warming. You can't keep putting petrol on the fire. This is just unthinkable, frankly. We need to be reducing carbon pollution. We need to be reducing emissions, but emissions are higher than they were under the Morrison government. What? This is crazy! This is dangerous. This needs to be reversed.

It's as if the Albanese government is hoping everyone has forgotten the promises that were made at the last election. It's like the Prime Minister is hoping that no-one has noticed that, despite promises that they would do better on climate and the environment, the government is dropping the ball, seemingly dragging its feet and making things worse. It is just unacceptable in 2024, when we are having record temperatures here in Australia and around the world, that this government is approving new coalmines and gas mines and that the environment minister is signing off on new coalmines and gas mines and giving them a big green tick. There's nothing green about new coal and gas. There is nothing environmentally sound about expanding the fossil fuel industry in 2024. There is nothing that supports the idea that a government can just make the situation worse and expand fossil fuels. It is the exact opposite of what science requires.

At the last election, more candidates with a climate and environment policy were voted into this parliament for the first time than ever before—across the crossbench and across the Greens, and there were even some on the Labor Party benches. The government had a mandate—the parliament has a mandate—to do more, not less. Instead of doing more, the Prime Minister today has told the parliament to get out of his way so that he can continue to sign off on the opening of new coalmines and gas mines. He doesn't want any type of climate assessment in environment law. The Prime Minister has told the parliament to get out of his way so he can keep letting the gas industry, the coal industry and other big polluters open up, keep going, keep burning and keep polluting. It's simply unacceptable, and it needs to be called out.