Warwick Stacey (NSW, Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party) Share this | Hansard source

Australia is beginning to recognise the folly of net zero. Pauline Hanson's One Nation continues to provide leadership on this issue. We have championed this cause, and we continue to be a voice for working Australians. The government has given us weasel words and hides behind opaque language. An example of this was made by the Treasurer at the National Press Club recently when he said:

The global net zero transition will also reshape our revenue from resources.

While he declined to say so, we can only assume that 'the global net zero transition' means the elimination of fossil fuels. We can only assume that by 'resources' he means Australian coal and liquefied natural gas. In terms of his reference to revenue, the Treasurer means $160 billion of income generated by Australian coal and liquid natural gas exports.

Coal and LNG royalties for both state and federal governments amounted to about $28 billion in the financial year to 30 June 2024. This revenue is fundamental to the health of our economy and fundamental to Australian wealth. It represents jobs and a huge source of tax revenue for the government. This revenue would stop dead should we transition to a future without fossil fuels. This would wreck our economy, cost jobs and increase the cost of living for Australians. While the Treasurer has suggested this is a mere 'reshaping', this is a deliberate effort to disguise what would amount to a wrecking ball being taken to the Australian economy. If the Treasurer had wanted to be honest and straightforward about his true intentions, he would not have said:

The global net zero transition will also reshape our revenue from resources.

He would instead have said something along the lines of: 'Australia will eliminate fossil fuels and will no longer export coal and gas. This will wreak complete havoc on our economy, add to the queues of the unemployed and increase the cost of living for all Australians.' This kind of plain speech would have exposed the net zero agenda for what it is: an economic catastrophe for Australia for ideological reasons. The continued pursuit of net zero will inevitably mean that taxes will be raised and services will be cut.

Energy is the essential resource, as everything else in our economy depends on it. Its price and availability impact the price and availability of literally everything else. There is also an uncontroversial link between productivity and cheap, abundant power, which the government appears unwilling to acknowledge. The demand for affordable energy has never been higher. In 2024 the world burnt more coal, oil and gas than in any previous year, surpassing all previous records. Eighty-two per cent of the world's total primary energy demand is met by fossil fuels. Wind and solar are not feasible replacements for this demand and merely work as an add-on to fossil-fuel-generated baseload power. These numbers demonstrate that there is no true global net zero transition and no evolution away from fossil fuels.

Trillions of dollars have been wasted in the quest for net zero, and this policy is a complete failure. One Nation has been the thought leader on this issue and maintains that it will not be long before people in this place must stop pretending that net zero is achievable. Net zero represents a deliberate act of self-harm. Its only reality is a net zero benefit to the planet.