Division Description Changes — Matters of Urgency — Climate Change — 4th Sep 2023

Change	Division
senate vote 2023-09-04#3 Edited by mackay staff on 2024-01-12 08:31:54	Title ~~Matters of Urgency — Climate Change~~ Matters of Urgency - Climate Change - New coal mines Description ~~<p class="speaker">Helen Polley</p>~~ ~~<p>I inform the Senate that the President has received the following letter, dated 4 September 2023 from Senator McKim.</p>~~ The majority voted against a [motion](https://www.openaustralia.org.au/senate/?id=2023-09-04.180.2): *> That, in the opinion of** the Senate, the following is a matter of urgency:* > *> That the government has already approved five new coal projects this year despite the International Energy Agency's warn*ing that we must immediately stop approving new coal projects if we are to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. <p class="italic">That the government has already approved five new coal projects this year despite the International Energy Agency's warning that we must immediately stop approving new coal projects if we are to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.</p> ~~<p>Is the proposal supported?</p>~~ ~~<p> <i>More than the number of senators required by the standing </i> <i>orders having risen in their places—</i></p>~~ ~~<p class="speaker">Larissa Waters</p>~~ ~~<p>I move:</p>~~ ~~<p class="italic">That, in the opinion of the Senate, the following is a matter of urgency:</p>~~ <p>This morning my home state of Queensland woke to the news that even though we are only at the start of September the Darling Downs, the Granite Belt, Maranoa and Warrego are facing catastrophic fire danger. The Bureau of Meteorology reports that temperatures are six to eight degrees above average today. Six to eight degrees above average is terrifying but what do we see from the Albanese government? The fifth new coal mine approved just last week.</p> <p>The Black Summer bushfires that devastated the eastern states started off much the same way in 2019. Back then the Greens moved for the parliament to declare a climate emergency and Labor voted with us. At the time, in opposition, Mr Albanese he said that Labor would set their emissions targets in accordance with the science. Well, how times have changed. While our planet is boiling, Labor's climate policies are undercooked. Australia's winter of 2023 was the warmest since official records began in 1910. In the northern hemisphere, July 2023 was the hottest month on record as heatwaves scorched Europe and North America, and Greece continues to battle wildfires.</p> <p>But back to the Australian environment minister: she's just approved a fifth new coal project in my home state of Queensland. It will run until 2073. I thought we were meant to be at net zero by 2050. That is another 50 years of coal when the science tells us we cannot open any new coal or gas mines. If we're going to stop the world going over the climate cliff, we cannot open a single new coal project, yet the Labor government have already approved five. Labor has over 100 coal and gas projects in the pipeline. Thanks to pressure from the Greens, we saw changes to the safeguard mechanism that make around half those projects unviable, and we will keep fighting to stop the rest.</p> <p>On top of the confetti of new coal approvals, Labor are continuing to budget for $11 billion of public money each year in subsidies to fossil fuel projects, in the form of cheap diesel and accelerated depreciation, including for carbon bombs like Middle Arm and Woodside's Scarborough gas project. They're also continuing to accept just under $1 million in political donations from the fossil fuel industry—in a totally unrelated coincidence! Labor's commitment to the bottom line of their major donors in the coal, oil and industry is unwavering. The temperature records keep rising, fire danger is catastrophic, and the so-called environment minister just keeps approving new coalmines. It is cooked.</p> ~~<p class="speaker">Karen Grogan</p>~~ <p>That's an interesting contribution. Yes, we are looking at some pretty intense challenges across the world in terms of climate change, and let's be clear: we've had 10 years of no action—none whatsoever. But the Labor government have been crystal clear in our intentions. We have committed to and taken action on global warming after, as I say, 10 years of significant inaction, and we will continue to do so. But what we won't do is close down all fossil fuels overnight, because we have a plan to re-engineer our system rather than just destroy our economy and turn the lights out. There is another way, and that way is the way that we have chosen and that we intend to progress.</p> <p>Let's not forget that it was the Greens' action 10 years ago that actively stopped any progression on battling climate change. Just imagine how much better off we would be if there had been support back then and if Labor's climate action plans 10 years ago had got off the ground. Imagine how much better off we'd be now. But no. Here we are, starting from scratch. We have the coalition over there laughing at sea level rise in the Pacific, having failed to deliver any meaningful energy policies over that very long, dark stretch of their time in government. They enabled the stagnation of the Murray-Darling Basin Plan and did absolutely nothing on global warming. In just one year, the Albanese government has done more for the environment, more for energy, more for water and more on climate change than we saw in that entire decade. Obviously, it's not going to be enough for my colleagues in the Greens. They are very passionate about global warming, which is great. However, there's a balance here. We have to make that transition. This is about a transition, and it needs a plan. Blindly turning off every single system in the fossil fuel chain overnight would destroy our economy. So we need a balanced, planned approach, and that's exactly what the Albanese government has done.</p> <p>We started the process by looking at our emissions reductions. Senator Waters has referred to the safeguard mechanism, and we legislated that earlier this year. That has been our plan for a very long time, but when you're not in government you can't bring in those plans. We've just had to sit on the sidelines and watch the coalition government trash the country. So we have a plan, and that plan is what we are rolling out and have been rolling out for the last 14 or 15 months. We must support our economy and our environment, and our plan does just that. We've introduced a range of policies, not just the safeguard mechanism, to start reducing emissions from the highest emitters by 4.9 per cent every year. We've also legislated the emission reduction target of 43 per cent. We've doubled the rate of renewable energy approvals, because to get away from fossil fuels we need another source of energy and the renewable energy pathway is the one that is right for Australia. We've committed $2 billion for green hydrogen, another form of energy that will assist in dealing with global warming and assist in Australia turning itself into a renewable energy superpower. We've got $1.6 billion for home and small business electrification. We've got $20 billion for Rewiring the Nation. We have to get those renewables into our system so that our reliance on fossil fuels can decline. We have commenced the establishment of massive new offshore wind across the country and committed $3 billion to the National Reconstruction Fund.</p> <p>All these processes are the things that are going to take us to a much better place, to reduce our emissions and to do our bit. We know that the weather is getting more intense. We are in a world of pain here. We need a plan to move forward. The Albanese Labor government has that plan, and that plan is what we are going to roll out here—to the yawns of the Greens to my right.</p> ~~<p class="speaker">Susan McDonald</p>~~ <p>What a load of twaddle from both the Greens and the government. This fantastical energy plan that is being rushed is resulting in greater expenditure and taxes and no connections. I have just spent two weeks in Western Australia where I saw extraordinarily bad outcomes for resources companies. They have had to step in because of the government's failure to have any plan at all.</p> <p>The Greens have come up with this urgency motion. They continue to make up numbers in this sector while ignoring the fact that it does continue to provide our energy security. The lesson of the past few months is that energy security equals national security for all Australians. It's funny, however, that the Greens reference the IEA and continue to pick out the numbers that suit their radical agenda.</p> <p>Coal and gas remain necessities for energy production both in Australia and right around the world. The International Energy Agency's <i>World </i><i>energy outlook </i>projects that total global oil, coal and gas demand will grow. In fact, the IEA confirms that coal and gas will remain an important part of the world's energy mix decades into the future, with coal remaining the single-largest source of energy in 2040. That means that coal and gas will play a vital role in Australia's energy mix for the foreseeable future.</p> <p>We can see in South Australia, Victoria and New South Wales the emerging issue of energy supply security and affordability. All three states are expected to have energy shortfalls over the next three years. AEMO is warning of blackouts and brownouts over this summer, which is a burning issue, as reliable power is turned off without proper planning from this government. Coal-fired power makes up 75 per cent of our average national electricity generation and gas makes up 16 per cent of that generation and is a vital firming source in winter. We simply cannot afford to cut out new coal and gas developments. Australia has a choice. Do we adopt the European model of outsourcing our energy needs or do we adopt the US model and become an energy independent nation, using our own reserves? Continuing energy shortages and spiralling energy costs are the result of policies forcing out reliable and affordable energy in favour of intermittent energy sources. That's what the Greens want to foist on Australian households and businesses—soaring energy costs and unreliable supply.</p> <p>Australia's high-quality coal and gas will play an important role, not only domestically but in other countries around the world. That is why the coalition is committed to supporting our coal and gas industries to supply Australia's high-quality resources to export markets to help lift millions out of poverty, as well as to provide cheap, reliable electricity to industry and families across Australia. Australian coal is some of the highest quality coal in the world. We produce it more efficiently than most, meaning more energy and fewer emissions. That puts our coal and gas sectors and the thousands of Australians who work in them in prime position to benefit from the increased global demand for energy resources.</p> <p>As China and India increase their demand for coal and gas, for both steel creation and energy generation, and as Japan and Korea demand more gas to fuel their transitions, it is in everyone's interest that Australia's high-quality resources are the first choice for our partners around the world. Our failure to meet those demands—to refuse to step up and be responsible—will mean those countries that need our resources turn to lower-quality, higher-emitting resources from other countries. Pause to think on that for a second, Madam Acting Deputy President. When Australia stops exporting its high-quality coal and gas, higher emissions around the world are the result. If Australia steps back, world emissions rise, and that is a bad outcome in anybody's mind.</p> <p>As the middle class continues to grow, Australia's energy resources will enable people from countries in Africa and Asia to lift themselves out of poverty, unlike what's happening in Australia. It's not the Greens who stress over rising electricity bills; it's mums and dads trying to balance the household budget and figure out how to survive.</p> ~~<p class="speaker">David Pocock</p>~~ <p>It's very interesting to hear from the government about the transition. I'd like to point out that when you transition you're actually moving away from something. The government are moving towards it. They are talking about transition while they expand the fossil fuel industry. This is now vandalism. They know what they are doing. They are destroying our future for the short-term profits of a fossil fuel industry who are not good-faith actors in this. The industry are betting on us not taking the climate action necessary to secure a safe future.</p> <p>It is now the extremists that are demanding that we continue to expand the fossil fuel industry, that are giving subsidies to the fossil fuel industry, like the $1.5 billion for Middle Arm, to open up the Beetaloo. I have a real concern about what this is going to look like as we go forward, because currently fossil fuel companies are making bank. They are making record profits. Whilst making record profits, like at Whitehaven's Maules Creek coalmine, they're stealing water. They admitted to stealing a billion litres of water in the last drought, and they were outbidding local farmers for the water that was for sale. They're saying it's too expensive to recycle their tyres, so they're getting alterations to their licences so they can bury them onsite. Apparently, the $1.7 billion profit made by Whitehaven in the last year isn't enough to recycle tyres, so they say: 'Let's just bury them. That's someone else's problem. We're going to leave this massive hole when we go, and buried somewhere down there will be some tyres.' The next issue we're going to have to deal with is how we ensure that the major parties are taking this seriously.</p> ~~<p class='motion-notice motion-notice-truncated'>Long debate text truncated.</p>~~

~~Helen Polley~~
~~I inform the Senate that the President has received the following letter, dated 4 September 2023 from Senator McKim.~~
The majority voted against a [motion](https://www.openaustralia.org.au/senate/?id=2023-09-04.180.2):
> *That, in the opinion of the Senate, the following is a matter of urgency:*
>
> *That the government has already approved five new coal projects this year despite the International Energy Agency's warning that we must immediately stop approving new coal projects if we are to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.*
That the government has already approved five new coal projects this year despite the International Energy Agency's warning that we must immediately stop approving new coal projects if we are to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.
~~Is the proposal supported?~~
~~ More than the number of senators required by the standing orders having risen in their places—~~
~~Larissa Waters~~
~~I move:~~
~~That, in the opinion of the Senate, the following is a matter of urgency:~~
This morning my home state of Queensland woke to the news that even though we are only at the start of September the Darling Downs, the Granite Belt, Maranoa and Warrego are facing catastrophic fire danger. The Bureau of Meteorology reports that temperatures are six to eight degrees above average today. Six to eight degrees above average is terrifying but what do we see from the Albanese government? The fifth new coal mine approved just last week.
The Black Summer bushfires that devastated the eastern states started off much the same way in 2019. Back then the Greens moved for the parliament to declare a climate emergency and Labor voted with us. At the time, in opposition, Mr Albanese he said that Labor would set their emissions targets in accordance with the science. Well, how times have changed. While our planet is boiling, Labor's climate policies are undercooked. Australia's winter of 2023 was the warmest since official records began in 1910. In the northern hemisphere, July 2023 was the hottest month on record as heatwaves scorched Europe and North America, and Greece continues to battle wildfires.
But back to the Australian environment minister: she's just approved a fifth new coal project in my home state of Queensland. It will run until 2073. I thought we were meant to be at net zero by 2050. That is another 50 years of coal when the science tells us we cannot open any new coal or gas mines. If we're going to stop the world going over the climate cliff, we cannot open a single new coal project, yet the Labor government have already approved five. Labor has over 100 coal and gas projects in the pipeline. Thanks to pressure from the Greens, we saw changes to the safeguard mechanism that make around half those projects unviable, and we will keep fighting to stop the rest.
On top of the confetti of new coal approvals, Labor are continuing to budget for $11 billion of public money each year in subsidies to fossil fuel projects, in the form of cheap diesel and accelerated depreciation, including for carbon bombs like Middle Arm and Woodside's Scarborough gas project. They're also continuing to accept just under $1 million in political donations from the fossil fuel industry—in a totally unrelated coincidence! Labor's commitment to the bottom line of their major donors in the coal, oil and industry is unwavering. The temperature records keep rising, fire danger is catastrophic, and the so-called environment minister just keeps approving new coalmines. It is cooked.
~~Karen Grogan~~
That's an interesting contribution. Yes, we are looking at some pretty intense challenges across the world in terms of climate change, and let's be clear: we've had 10 years of no action—none whatsoever. But the Labor government have been crystal clear in our intentions. We have committed to and taken action on global warming after, as I say, 10 years of significant inaction, and we will continue to do so. But what we won't do is close down all fossil fuels overnight, because we have a plan to re-engineer our system rather than just destroy our economy and turn the lights out. There is another way, and that way is the way that we have chosen and that we intend to progress.
Let's not forget that it was the Greens' action 10 years ago that actively stopped any progression on battling climate change. Just imagine how much better off we would be if there had been support back then and if Labor's climate action plans 10 years ago had got off the ground. Imagine how much better off we'd be now. But no. Here we are, starting from scratch. We have the coalition over there laughing at sea level rise in the Pacific, having failed to deliver any meaningful energy policies over that very long, dark stretch of their time in government. They enabled the stagnation of the Murray-Darling Basin Plan and did absolutely nothing on global warming. In just one year, the Albanese government has done more for the environment, more for energy, more for water and more on climate change than we saw in that entire decade. Obviously, it's not going to be enough for my colleagues in the Greens. They are very passionate about global warming, which is great. However, there's a balance here. We have to make that transition. This is about a transition, and it needs a plan. Blindly turning off every single system in the fossil fuel chain overnight would destroy our economy. So we need a balanced, planned approach, and that's exactly what the Albanese government has done.
We started the process by looking at our emissions reductions. Senator Waters has referred to the safeguard mechanism, and we legislated that earlier this year. That has been our plan for a very long time, but when you're not in government you can't bring in those plans. We've just had to sit on the sidelines and watch the coalition government trash the country. So we have a plan, and that plan is what we are rolling out and have been rolling out for the last 14 or 15 months. We must support our economy and our environment, and our plan does just that. We've introduced a range of policies, not just the safeguard mechanism, to start reducing emissions from the highest emitters by 4.9 per cent every year. We've also legislated the emission reduction target of 43 per cent. We've doubled the rate of renewable energy approvals, because to get away from fossil fuels we need another source of energy and the renewable energy pathway is the one that is right for Australia. We've committed $2 billion for green hydrogen, another form of energy that will assist in dealing with global warming and assist in Australia turning itself into a renewable energy superpower. We've got $1.6 billion for home and small business electrification. We've got $20 billion for Rewiring the Nation. We have to get those renewables into our system so that our reliance on fossil fuels can decline. We have commenced the establishment of massive new offshore wind across the country and committed $3 billion to the National Reconstruction Fund.
All these processes are the things that are going to take us to a much better place, to reduce our emissions and to do our bit. We know that the weather is getting more intense. We are in a world of pain here. We need a plan to move forward. The Albanese Labor government has that plan, and that plan is what we are going to roll out here—to the yawns of the Greens to my right.
~~Susan McDonald~~
What a load of twaddle from both the Greens and the government. This fantastical energy plan that is being rushed is resulting in greater expenditure and taxes and no connections. I have just spent two weeks in Western Australia where I saw extraordinarily bad outcomes for resources companies. They have had to step in because of the government's failure to have any plan at all.
The Greens have come up with this urgency motion. They continue to make up numbers in this sector while ignoring the fact that it does continue to provide our energy security. The lesson of the past few months is that energy security equals national security for all Australians. It's funny, however, that the Greens reference the IEA and continue to pick out the numbers that suit their radical agenda.
Coal and gas remain necessities for energy production both in Australia and right around the world. The International Energy Agency's World energy outlook projects that total global oil, coal and gas demand will grow. In fact, the IEA confirms that coal and gas will remain an important part of the world's energy mix decades into the future, with coal remaining the single-largest source of energy in 2040. That means that coal and gas will play a vital role in Australia's energy mix for the foreseeable future.
We can see in South Australia, Victoria and New South Wales the emerging issue of energy supply security and affordability. All three states are expected to have energy shortfalls over the next three years. AEMO is warning of blackouts and brownouts over this summer, which is a burning issue, as reliable power is turned off without proper planning from this government. Coal-fired power makes up 75 per cent of our average national electricity generation and gas makes up 16 per cent of that generation and is a vital firming source in winter. We simply cannot afford to cut out new coal and gas developments. Australia has a choice. Do we adopt the European model of outsourcing our energy needs or do we adopt the US model and become an energy independent nation, using our own reserves? Continuing energy shortages and spiralling energy costs are the result of policies forcing out reliable and affordable energy in favour of intermittent energy sources. That's what the Greens want to foist on Australian households and businesses—soaring energy costs and unreliable supply.
Australia's high-quality coal and gas will play an important role, not only domestically but in other countries around the world. That is why the coalition is committed to supporting our coal and gas industries to supply Australia's high-quality resources to export markets to help lift millions out of poverty, as well as to provide cheap, reliable electricity to industry and families across Australia. Australian coal is some of the highest quality coal in the world. We produce it more efficiently than most, meaning more energy and fewer emissions. That puts our coal and gas sectors and the thousands of Australians who work in them in prime position to benefit from the increased global demand for energy resources.
As China and India increase their demand for coal and gas, for both steel creation and energy generation, and as Japan and Korea demand more gas to fuel their transitions, it is in everyone's interest that Australia's high-quality resources are the first choice for our partners around the world. Our failure to meet those demands—to refuse to step up and be responsible—will mean those countries that need our resources turn to lower-quality, higher-emitting resources from other countries. Pause to think on that for a second, Madam Acting Deputy President. When Australia stops exporting its high-quality coal and gas, higher emissions around the world are the result. If Australia steps back, world emissions rise, and that is a bad outcome in anybody's mind.
As the middle class continues to grow, Australia's energy resources will enable people from countries in Africa and Asia to lift themselves out of poverty, unlike what's happening in Australia. It's not the Greens who stress over rising electricity bills; it's mums and dads trying to balance the household budget and figure out how to survive.
~~David Pocock~~
It's very interesting to hear from the government about the transition. I'd like to point out that when you transition you're actually moving away from something. The government are moving towards it. They are talking about transition while they expand the fossil fuel industry. This is now vandalism. They know what they are doing. They are destroying our future for the short-term profits of a fossil fuel industry who are not good-faith actors in this. The industry are betting on us not taking the climate action necessary to secure a safe future.
It is now the extremists that are demanding that we continue to expand the fossil fuel industry, that are giving subsidies to the fossil fuel industry, like the $1.5 billion for Middle Arm, to open up the Beetaloo. I have a real concern about what this is going to look like as we go forward, because currently fossil fuel companies are making bank. They are making record profits. Whilst making record profits, like at Whitehaven's Maules Creek coalmine, they're stealing water. They admitted to stealing a billion litres of water in the last drought, and they were outbidding local farmers for the water that was for sale. They're saying it's too expensive to recycle their tyres, so they're getting alterations to their licences so they can bury them onsite. Apparently, the $1.7 billion profit made by Whitehaven in the last year isn't enough to recycle tyres, so they say: 'Let's just bury them. That's someone else's problem. We're going to leave this massive hole when we go, and buried somewhere down there will be some tyres.' The next issue we're going to have to deal with is how we ensure that the major parties are taking this seriously.
~~Long debate text truncated.~~