Janet Rice (Victoria, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I listened really closely to the debate this morning about my colleague Senator Whish-Wilson's private senator's bill to stop the PEP 11 project, which would allow for the expansion of oil and gas exploration. My mood swung between being totally outraged that Labor and Liberal senators alike were arguing to support the expansion of oil and gas mining and use—I was outraged by that—and being really, really sad, and then, finally, being fired up to keep campaigning.

I was outraged because I just don't understand this: what don't the people in this chamber understand about the fact that we are in a climate crisis and that if we keep on not just using oil, coal and gas but expanding the production of them and the burning, the mining and the export of them that we are headed for three, if not four, degrees of warming across the planet? Why don't these people understand what that means? It's the increase in severity of floods, fires, rises in sea level, coastal erosion, food availability and skyrocketing food prices. What don't they understand? We are on track, even under the government's 43 per cent climate target, for three or four degrees of warming. We are in a climate crisis; we cannot afford to continue to burn oil and gas and, particularly, to continue with new oil and gas projects. So I was really, really sad that here in 2023 we're still arguing about this. Why can't we acknowledge that we're in a climate crisis? We all need to work together to make improvements so that we have a healthy future.

But, finally, I was fired up, inspired by knowing that there are millions and millions of people across Australia and the world who are fighting for a healthy future for us all and properly tackling our climate crisis.