Larissa Waters (Queensland, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That the Senate—

(a) notes that:

  (i) the Morrison Government is pushing for a 'gas led recovery', which is expected to increase gas extraction across Australia,

  (ii) Australia's largest insurance company, Insurance Australia Group, has announced that it will no longer provide liability cover for farmers with coal seam gas (CSG) infrastructure on their property,

  (iii) landholders, including farmers and First Nations peoples, have consistently raised concerns regarding the risks that unconventional gas poses to land, water and the climate, and farmers are concerned that loss of insurance cover exposes them to additional liability for those risks,

  (iv) on Q&A on 1 June 2020, Senator Matt Canavan said in relation to gas and farmers' rights: "I think we've got the balance wrong in this country. We don't give farmers enough rights ... I've been to some of those landowners and I've sat with them, having cups of tea. And there was not a lot of voluntary participation in lots of the [gas access] agreements", and

  (v) the Greens have proposed a number of bills since 2011 to give landholders, including farmers and First Nations peoples, the right to say no to unconventional gas and coal mining on their land, which the Liberal, Labor and National parties have consistently voted against; and

(b) calls on the Federal Government to require gas companies to hold:

(i) public liability insurance coverage over any land where they have CSG infrastructure, and

(ii) comprehensive insurance coverage for environmental damage on that land.

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.

Sue Lines (WA, Deputy-President) 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

The coal seam gas industry plays a vital role in contributing to regional communities. The Queensland experience is that landholders and the industry are successfully co-existing and are provided a range of mutual benefits. In total, more than $505 million has been paid to Queensland primary producers through land access agreements, with nearly $80 million paid in the last financial year alone. There are a range of insurance products that are available to landholders to cover potential public liability issues. The Greens have no interest in helping farmers. Their only concern is to destroy the gas industry and remove farmers' rights to undertake activities like land management.

Katy Gallagher (ACT, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Finance) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I seek leave to make a short statement.

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

Leave is granted for one minute.

Katy Gallagher (ACT, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Finance) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Labor supports the coal seam gas industry and notes that project approval processes in each of the jurisdictions are stringent, robust and science based. As such, we see no merit in this motion.

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

I seek leave to make a short statement.

Sue Lines (WA, Deputy-President) 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

One Nation opposes this motion. Fact: while it's true that one insurance company has withdrawn liability coverage for coal seam gas infrastructure on farmers' property, there are other insurance companies continuing to provide this service. Firstly, the core issue is farmers' rights, which Liberal-National and Labor state governments in Queensland have bypassed in their rush for gas royalties. These rights of farmers over their own property need to be restored. Secondly, gas companies—not farmers—need to provide insurance for their infrastructure. Thirdly, state governments have responsibility for gas mining and effectively underwrite that liability. That is the incentive for state governments to get it right in regulations to protect our valuable natural environment. The issue of insurance is a state government responsibility, and we must oppose the Greens' relentless pursuit of centralisation and the destruction of states' rights, undermining our national Constitution. The federal government has no role in mandating insurance coverage on Queensland farms.

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

The question is that general business notice of motion No. 651, standing in the name of Senator Waters, be agreed to.