16th Jun 2020, 4:50 PM – Senate Motions - Mining - Transition to renewables

The majority voted against a motion introduced by Queensland Senator Larissa Waters (Greens), which means it failed.

Motion text

That the Senate—

(a) notes that:

(i) since the Sydney Morning Herald and The Agereported on 11 June 2020 that international insurance companies Liberty Mutual, HDI-Talanx and Aspen Re were underwriting work on Adani's Carmichael coal mine, Liberty Mutual and HDI-Talanx have publicly stated that they will not provide future policies to the Adani Carmichael project, and Aspen Re is 'reviewing its underwriting appetite for fossil fuels',

(ii) existing coverage extends to early work only and Adani has still not secured insurance for the complete construction and operation of the Carmichael mine,

(iii) many major companies have refused to be involved in any part of the climate-wrecking project, including:

(A) at least sixteen global insurers, and

(B) at least sixty-five major insurance, construction, engineering, finance and haulage companies, and

(iv) in the ten years since this mine was announced, the Adani group has:

(A) misrepresented the number of jobs the Carmichael mine would create,

(B) illegally released contaminated water into protected wetlands and the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage area, and

(C) been criminally convicted in relation to giving false and misleading information to the Queensland regulator in relation to unlawful clearing activities; and

(b) calls on the Federal Government to:

(i) recognise that the Adani Carmichael coal mine project is unviable and withdraw its support for the project,

(ii) ban all new thermal coal mining in the Galilee Basin and plan a just transition for workers in existing coal mines, and

(iii) invest in renewable energy projects that will actually create jobs without turbo-charging the climate crisis.