Peter Whish-Wilson (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

I note the point of order, Senator Duniam. I've obviously hit a raw nerve there. The fact that this Liberal Party is in opposition is a good thing. For anybody who wants action on climate change, this is a good thing, and I'm proud of my political party for getting amendments to this legislation that have improved it and have made it a lot more difficult for fossil fuel projects to proceed, because that is what the science tells us we need to do. That is what the IPCC report which coincidentally landed last week told us we need to do. That is what the conservative International Energy Agency tells us we need to do.

But I want to be really clear about this. This legislation we're going to pass today is not enough. It is nowhere near enough. The fight must go on. If we're going to stop new fossil projects going ahead, we need to let the Labor government know at every turn that this is not acceptable. I want to put on record today that yesterday in the parliament—in fact, they've been here for three days—there was an alliance of ocean groups from around the country, who have been having many meetings with MPs, calling for an end to all fossil fuel exploration in our oceans and to the endless acreage releases that these fossil fuel companies are given by governments every year. I remember when Mr Scott Morrison phoned in from climate negotiations in Paris just three years ago—