Helen Polley (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Before moving general business notice of motion 186, I wish to inform the chamber that Senator Bilyk will also sponsor the motion. I, and also on behalf of Senator Bilyk, move:

That the Senate—

(a) notes that:

  (i) the Australian Labor Party (Labor) is the only party of government that is committed to real action on climate change,

  (ii) investing in renewable energy is the only way to ensure a responsible energy mix is achieved in Australia, and

  (iii) strong climate action is needed, to protect the prosperity of future generations of Australians and to meet our international obligations under the Paris climate change accords;

(b) acknowledges that any responsible government must modernise our economy and adapt to inevitable climate impacts;

(c) recognises that:

  (i) Labor's approach to climate change policy will continue to be guided by the best science available, and be underpinned by Labor values of equity and fairness, and

  (ii) Labor's approach will focus on the development of policies that will not only cut pollution, but ensure we maximise the jobs and economic opportunities of modernising our economy;

(d) understands that every Australian deserves a government that looks to the future and makes the necessary policy reforms and investments to secure that future;

(e) notes that projects, such as the proposed hydrogen production facility at Bell Bay, should have bipartisan support;

(f) further notes that Tasmania is a renewable energy leader but that Australia cannot get left behind by other countries, such as Japan and South Korea;

(g) understands that Tasmania Hydrogen can provide one-quarter of Northern Tasmania's export growth over the next 10 years;

(h) recognises that, once complete, the proposed facility would use renewable energy to split water into hydrogen and oxygen through a process called electrolysis, with the product then able to be sold as liquid hydrogen, or combined with nitrogen to create ammonia; and

(i) notes that the regional development ramifications for a project like this should be recognised, including an estimated 500 to 1000 jobs which could be created, and that the flow-on effect to other businesses and service providers would be ongoing.

Jonathon Duniam (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Forestry and Fisheries) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I seek leave to make a short statement.

Alex Gallacher (SA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Leave is granted for one minute.

Jonathon Duniam (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Forestry and Fisheries) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

In 2018, Australia had the largest per capita level of investment in clean energy in the world—more than the UK, Germany and France combined. We're working to deliver Snowy 2.0, the Battery of the Nation, the National Hydrogen Strategy and investment in bioenergy and lithium research. Labor is hopelessly divided on energy and has abandoned the climate platform it took to the last election. We call on all Labor senators to follow the lead of the shadow minister for agriculture and resources and endorse the government's sensible climate policy and agenda instead of pursuing reckless targets that will hit Australian families and small business the hardest.

Malcolm Roberts (Queensland, Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I seek leave to make a short statement.

Alex Gallacher (SA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Leave is granted for one minute.

Malcolm Roberts (Queensland, Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

We oppose this motion. Labor only recently lost the unlosable election, in large part due to their extreme climate policies, which would have destroyed the Australian economy and transferred our manufacturing industries to the likes of China and India, who have not burdened themselves with virtue-signalling UN climate policies. What does real climate action look like to the Labor Party? Is it transitioning away from cheap, clean hydrocarbon energy sources that power the economy to expensive, intermittent solar and wind that could not even produce enough energy to produce themselves? What would be the benefit of this transition? According to Australia's Chief Scientist, if the entire Australian economy stopped tomorrow and reduced our 1.5 per cent carbon dioxide output to zero, it will have virtually no effect on global temperature. What could be Labor's motivation to kill our economy for no benefit? The answer, my friends, lies in the Labor platform of democratic socialism.

Nick McKim (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I seek leave to move amendments to general business notice of motion No. 186 moved by Senators Polley and Bilyk, and I also seek leave to make a short statement.

Sue Lines (WA, Deputy-President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

We will deal with the first one first. Is leave granted to amend the motion.

Leave granted.

Nick McKim (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

(1) Omit subparagraph (a) (i)

(2) Omit subparagraph (a) (ii), substitute

(a) (ii) investing in renewable energy is essential to ensure real action on climate change, and

(3) Omit paragraph (c)

Proposed amended motion would read as follows:

To move—That the Senate—

(a) notes that:

  (ii) investing in renewable energy is essential to ensure real action on climate change, and

  (iii) strong climate action is needed, to protect the prosperity of future generations of Australians and to meet our international obligations under the Paris climate change accords;

(b) acknowledges that any responsible government must modernise our economy and adapt to inevitable climate impacts;

(c) understands that every Australian deserves a government that looks to the future and makes the necessary policy reforms and investments to secure that future;

(d) notes that projects, such as the proposed hydrogen production facility at Bell Bay, should have bipartisan support;

(e) further notes that Tasmania is a renewable energy leader but that Australia cannot get left behind by other countries, such as Japan and South Korea;

(f) understands that Tasmania Hydrogen can provide one-quarter of Northern Tasmania's export growth over the next 10 years;

(g) recognises that, once complete, the proposed facility would use renewable energy to split water into hydrogen and oxygen through a process called electrolysis, with the product then able to be sold as liquid hydrogen, or combined with nitrogen to create ammonia; and

(h) notes that the regional development ramifications for a project like this should be recognised, including an estimated 500 to 1000 jobs which could be created, and that the flow-on effect to other businesses and service providers would be ongoing.

Sue Lines (WA, Deputy-President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Is leave granted to make a one minute statement?

Leave not granted.

Sue Lines (WA, Deputy-President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The question now is that general business notice of motion No. 186 standing in the name of Senators Polley and Bilyk, as amended, be agreed to.