George Brandis (Queensland, Liberal Party, Attorney-General) Share this | Hansard source

Senator Waters, I am not aware that Adani donates any money to the Liberal Party, as a matter of fact. But this government is a strong supporter of coalmining—let there be no mistake about that. You, as a Queensland senator, should be ashamed of yourself for being party to attempts to destroy Queensland's most prosperous industry, the great engine of job creation in our state.

The Carmichael mine, being promoted by Adani, was a $16.5 billion project which in the initial stages would have created 2,600 jobs and across the life of the project was estimated to be worth 10,000 jobs. The fact, Senator Waters, that you are sitting there smiling and gloating at the fact that 10,000 jobs have been destroyed—10,000 jobs and livelihoods have been lost—by vigilante environmental groups determined to game the system in order to stop this important development, this important contribution to Queensland's economy, is a disgrace.

Senator Ian Macdonald interjecting—

Senator Macdonald, Senator Waters is a Queensland senator, but you would not know it. Senator Waters, in my view, the standing provisions in the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act are way too widely drawn, far too widely drawn. They are a red carpet for people who want to stop development to game the system by bringing vigilante litigation, and that is why the government proposes to deal with the matter. I hope you ask me a couple of supplementary questions, Senator Waters, because I look forward to explaining to you why those provisions are too widely drawn and why they are a threat to our economic security. (Time expired)