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

At the request of Senator McKim, I move:

That, in the opinion of the Senate, the following is a matter of urgency:

The Environment Minister continues to approve new coal and gas projects without having to consider the climate damage they will create. In the face of the climate and biodiversity crises, national environment laws must be urgently fixed to ensure the Environment Minister cannot ignore climate pollution when giving environment approvals.

I rise to speak to this very important matter, and I would like to ensure that, as we debate this issue today, people understand the real urgency of this matter. We have environment laws in this country that allow for the environment minister, when giving approval for new projects—whether it's a mine or a new gas well—to not even consider the climate impacts of such projects. We live in an era of climate crisis and biodiversity crisis. We are edging quickly this year to a summer that is going to be absolutely horrible—hotter, drier and more extreme. And yet we have laws in this country that do not even consider how those climate fires and the climate crisis are being made worse by the expansion of fossil fuels.

Every new coal or gas project risks the future of our Murray-Darling Basin, the food bowl of our nation. Every new coal or gas project puts our reef at risk. Every new coal or gas project risks the future of our children. Every new coal or gas project puts Australia's risk of more frequent, more devastating and more dreadful bushfires nearer and nearer in front of us. Every new coal or gas project fuels extinction. Australia was the first country to record mammal extinction as a result of climate change, and we can't afford any more. Australia was one of the first countries to really experience the extreme weather events of the bushfires and of the floods this millennia. And we know that those extreme weather events are made worse and worse by the climate crisis.

Every time a new coalmine or a new gas mine is opened up or expanded, it is making our climate crisis worse. This year the environment minister, whose job it is to protect the environment, has given the stamp of approval to not just one but two, three, four, at least five fossil fuel projects that are fuelling the climate crisis and will make this summer's bushfires worse—just this year. And the reason is that we have environment laws that ignore the climate damage and climate risk of pollution from coal and gas.

We urgently need to fix this. We cannot rely on the goodwill of government to deny approval to these projects; we've seen that. We know that the fossil fuel lobby in this country is too strong, is still calling the shots and is still applying pressure to members of parliament and government. In 2023, as we face an even worsening climate, it is time to fix these laws and make the minister do her job.