Jan McLucas (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Health and Ageing) Share this | Hansard source

by leave—I move:

(1)    Schedule 6, page 115 (after line 4), after item 9, insert:

9A  Subsection 3(1)

Insert:

geological storage operations means:

             (a)    operations to inject and store a gas substance in part of a geological formation; or

             (b)    operations preparing for or incidental to operations mentioned in paragraph (a).

(2)    Schedule 6, item 24, page 117 (line 28), omit “or drilling”, substitute “or geological storage operations”.

(3)    Schedule 6, item 24, page 118 (line 1), after “operations”, insert “or geological storage operations”.

(4)    Schedule 6, item 24, page 118 (line 27), omit “or drilling”, substitute “or geological storage operations”.

(5)    Schedule 6, item 24, page 118 (line 29), after “operations”, insert “or geological storage operations”.

These amendments will establish a prohibition on the geological storage of greenhouse gases in the Great Barrier Reef. As senators know, mining and drilling is prohibited in the Great Barrier Reef region. This prohibition was established long before geological storage of greenhouse gases was contemplated, as we know from the debate we had last night. The Australian government sees greenhouse gas geological storage as a critical technology in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. However, it has no intention of allowing it in the Great Barrier Reef where drilling operations are already prohibited. The amendment provides clarity and certainty regarding the government’s position and is also consistent with the overarching object of the bill currently before the Senate, which is to establish a modern, future focused regulatory framework for the Great Barrier Reef.