Elizabeth Watson-Brown (Ryan, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

(1) notes that:

(a) during the 2025 federal election, the then Leader of the Opposition promised to approve Woodside's North West Shelf gas project in Western Australia within 30 days, and the Government approved it within 15 days of being sworn in;

(b) the North West Shelf gas project is estimated to produce annual emissions totalling more than all of Australia's existing coal-fired power plants combined; and

(c) the Government has accepted more than $1 million in donations from Woodside since 2014, making them the tenth largest donor over the last decade; and

(2) calls on the Government to:

(a) cancel the draft approval for Woodside's North West Shelf gas project;

(b) implement a moratorium on new coal and gas projects; and

(c) commit to addressing corporate influence over our political system.

Within 15 days of being sworn in, this Labor government committed a truly criminal betrayal of the Australian people and of future generations all over the world. Labor approved the extension of the North West Shelf gas project to 2070. This project will produce annual emissions greater than all of Australia's existing coal-fired power plants combined. During the 2025 election campaign, Peter Dutton committed to approving it within 30 days. Labor, eager to perhaps prove its loyalty to the gas corporations, did it in half that time. Disgraceful!

There's no doubt we're in a climate crisis. It's everywhere. Every month a new heatwave record is broken somewhere in the world. We've seen historic floods, one after the other, across the country. Record bushfires hit LA in January; now they're smashing Spain and Portugal. Dolphins and seals are washing up dead on the shores of South Australia. This is happening. It's happening now. It's an existential emergency. And what do Labor do? They give an enthusiastic tick of approval to the biggest new fossil fuel project in the Southern Hemisphere. It is beyond cynicism and beyond hypocrisy for the Labor Party to talk up their credentials on renewables and talk about emissions reduction targets only to turn around and approve this monstrosity. Much of this gas is going to be given away largely for free. Next to no tax will be paid on this. It'll create very few jobs. Most of the gas will be for export, and we have enough gas for domestic use already.

It's no coincidence that Woodside is a major donor to both parties. Over the last decade, it donated over $1 million to the Labor Party. Politicians should have to wear logos of the corporations they take donations from, just like rally drivers. Imagine Labor and the coalition politicians walking into parliament sporting the logos of Woodside, Chevron, Westpac and Tabcorp. The jerseys might be different colours, but the logos would be the same. It is truly flabbergasting that, over the last decade, Labor and the LNP have taken over $200 million in donations from corporations.

But let's not kid ourselves that it's just the donations; the rot goes much deeper than that. It's the network of lobbyists. It's the cash-for-access meetings, the revolving door between politics and big business. It is a system of corporate influence that corrodes our democracy and means that the interests of multinational corporations are just about always put ahead of those of everyday people. Why, other than millions in donations and sophisticated lobbying efforts, would Woodside have been approved to extend its completely destructive North West Shelf gas project to 2070, or Chevron be able to force taxpayers to pay $500 million for the clean-up of its oil wells on Barrow Island? This is despite Chevron not paying a cent in corporate taxes for years. This is incredible. It's time to end this corporate stranglehold over our democracy.

And there is perhaps no greater example of the corporate influence on politics than corporate tax avoidance. There's no sector more adept at tax avoidance than Australia's gas industry. On that note, Origin Energy, what's wrong with you? You're actually paying tax! In the last 10 years, $125 billion worth of gas has been shipped out of Gladstone, but nine of the 10 companies involved in exporting that gas paid no tax. These companies reported $330 billion in total revenue to the ATO. So what happened, Origin? Why are you the only company involved in gas exports that has paid a cent of company tax? Fire your accountants.

These multinational gas companies are making a killing exporting our gas, and everyday Australian consumers and businesses are paying for it with rising gas bills. Often they don't even have to buy the gas off us in the first place; they just dig it up, sell it overseas and then hide the profits in a tax haven. Meanwhile, the Minister for the Environment and Water's first act after the election was to fly to Western Australia and clear the way for Woodside's North West Shelf gas extension. That's another $215 billion worth of resources given away for free to a massive gas corporation.

These giant corporations are ripping us off. They're wrecking our climate. They're making our future less and less liveable, and they've got both of the major parties happily dancing to their tune.

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