Sarah Hanson-Young (SA, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

Another day, another coalmine approved by the Labor Minister for the Environment and Water. It's extremely disappointing to see this government, who came into power off the back of a climate election, an environment minister who hand on heart says this is the moment she is going to take to save and look after the environment, day after day after day, every time there's a coalmine on her desk for approval, giving it a great big tick. Every time the environment minister approves a new coalmine, an expansion of a mine or a new gas well, every time the environment minister approves new coal or a new mine, it makes it harder to save the Murray River. Every time environment minister gives the tick to a new coalmine, it makes it harder to save the Great Barrier Reef. Every time the environment minister gives the tick of approval for expanding coal and gas, the threat of Australia's bushfires grows worse.

We are heading into another dry, hot season. Australians are already terrified of what this summer will bring. Rather than doing everything possible to stop making the climate crisis worse, to stop fuelling these climate fires, the environment minister is giving her big tick to new coal and gas. Our environment laws are broken. The whole point of the environment minister is to protect and stand up for the environment, and yet here we have the environment minister doing the work of the big coal and gas companies and giving them approval time after time after time.

I know that so many on this side of the government wish that wasn't happening. They know it's wrong, but they are fearful of change.

It is time to understand, to listen to the scientists, to heed the advice of the world's energy organisations. We can't get the climate crisis under control while we keep making the situation worse. Over and over again, the experts tell us that politicians must stop expanding the fossil fuel industry. It is time to stop pouring fuel on the fire. We need the transition and we need to start protecting our environment.