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

I move:

That the Senate—

(a) notes that:

  (i) 25 leading Australian scientists have just unanimously stated that there is no new role for gas and that 'existing and planned fossil fuel infrastructure is more than sufficient to push the world past 2°C, pushing the Paris Agreement's temperature goals well out of reach',

  (ii) the Chief Scientist's response to the scientists states that he is not advocating 'an expanded role of natural gas for industry' and that 'any residual role of gas-fired generators be ultimately met by fuelling them from clean hydrogen', and

  (iii) the Australian Energy Market Operator's advice on our future energy grid states that 'based on cost assumptions, new batteries are more cost-effective than gas-powered generation…when significant investment in new dispatchable capacity is needed'; and

(b) therefore urges the Government to act on the science and scrap its so-called 'gas-led recovery'.

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.

Scott Ryan (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

Unlike those opposite, we know where we stand. We are committed to ensuring that Australian households and businesses have access to the affordable, reliable energy that they need. The government recognises that Australia's competitive advantage has always been based on cheap energy. Gas will be central to our ongoing economic recovery and job creation, and a robust and competitive gas industry will allow both gas producers and users to thrive, with the lower prices and lower emissions benefiting all Australians.

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.

Scott Ryan (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 won't be supporting this motion today. This motion rejects a so-called gas-led recovery. From where we sit, we don't think there has been a gas-led recovery put forward by this government. There is no plan. After seven years there isn't even an energy policy. Labor has written to the government seeking to work with them on settling an energy policy framework, and the Prime Minister hasn't even bothered to reply. So the problem with this motion is that there isn't a plan for any kind of recovery and there certainly isn't a plan being put forward for a gas-led recovery; therefore we can't support this motion.

Question negatived.