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

WATERS (—) (): I move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

I seek leave to table an explanatory memorandum relating to the bill.

Leave granted.

I table an explanatory memorandum, and I seek leave to have the second reading speech incorporated into Hansard.

Leave granted.

The speech read as follows—

I rise today in favour of the Liability for Climate Change Damage (Make the Polluters Pay) Bill 2025, an Australian Greens Bill that will make coal and gas corporations liable for the damage caused by climate disasters.

The climate crisis is turbocharging extreme weather events and devastating local communities across the country, with locals in Northern Rivers and Queensland most recently bearing the brunt of more intense and severe storms and flooding.

We know that coal and gas are fuelling these climate disasters, yet the major parties keep approving projects that fuel the fire. Fossil fuel corporations continue to profit while everyday people are paying with their homes, livelihoods and, in some cases, their lives.

This Bill will give people and businesses affected by climate change fuelled events, such as victims of Tropical Cyclone Alfred, the right to sue coal and gas corporations to pay for the damage these corporations have caused.

In Australia, regulators and lawyers have advised that companies and their directors may have climate-related risks that should be disclosed, including litigation risk. In other countries, fossil fuel companies have faced legal action for climate damage. This Bill will clarify the situation under Australian law.

The Liability for Climate Change Damage (Make the Polluters Pay) Bill 2025 would allow victims of climate disasters, including people affected by Tropical Cyclone Alfred, to sue thermal coal, oil and gas companies for damages caused to their homes or businesses. Governments would also be able to take legal action in their own right or on behalf of people affected by climate disasters.

Major emitters of greenhouse gases, including fossil fuel producers and owners or operators of coal-fired power stations, will be liable for climate change damage if their total emissions are greater than 1 million tonnes in any 12-month period that began on or after 1 September 1990.

The first Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report was released in that year, unambiguously linking fossil fuels to global warming. From at least this time onwards, every fossil fuel corporation has known, or should have known, about the consequences of their actions.

It has been widely acknowledged for a long time that climate change is making natural disasters worse. We cannot keep allowing those fuelling the fire to rake in profits while our communities are left behind to clean up the mess.

Instead of continuing to approve new coal and gas, I urge the major parties to prioritise Australian communities on the frontline of the climate crisis and support this bill.

I seek leave to continue my remarks later.

Leave granted; debate adjourned.