Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Environment and Water) Share this | Hansard source

I withdraw.

The TEMPORARY CHAIR: Thank you.

Again, we've had three speakers from the coalition who have completely fabricated this and are peddling falsehoods. Senator Brockman, and I don't remember his exact words, claimed that Premier Cook is opposing this legislation and has bagged this legislation. Let me tell you what Premier Cook has said about these laws today, and you might be interested in this Senator Brockman. He has said, 'The reason there is a deal with the Greens is because the Liberals are an incoherent fringe party who dealt themselves out of negotiations.' That's what Premier Cook said.

He also said: 'While we're still digesting the detail, these laws will be a major improvement on current laws. They are a win for WA industry and a win for the WA environment. The creation of a streamlined process will greatly benefit our mining industry. Industry advocates appear to have had a number of wins, including around the definition of unacceptable impacts. Murray and I have agreed that WA will be first cab off the rank for bilateral negotiations, and we hope to address any outstanding issues through that process.' So Senator Brockman, you should apologise to the Senate and to Premier Cook for completely misrepresenting his position.

In the other part of your question you asked how many of the five items that Premier Cook asked to be addressed have been addressed. The answer is all five. In fact, I explained that to Premier Cook when I spoke to him late last night. Premier Cook's five items that he raised are very similar to the Chamber of Minerals and Energy of WA.

First, he was seeking amendments to the 'unacceptable impact' definition. Done. It was a condition of us reaching an agreement with the Greens. Second, he asked that we keep streamlined pathways for all projects. Done. We have kept the streamlined pathway for preliminary documentation. Third, tighten the use of stop work orders or environment protection orders. Done. That's 14 days in length, with the option of an extension for another 14 days, with more evidence to be provided. Done. Fourth, tighten the net gain definition. Done. We have committed, in the standard around offsets, that we will provide greater clarity around the definition—in the same way we committed to the coalition, but they just couldn't get their act together to make an agreement. Bit of a shame. Fifth, climate disclosure must not be part of decision-making. Done. That is in the explanatory memorandum.

Five out of five is what Premier Cook got. Five out of five is what the Chamber of Minerals and Energy of WA got. And zero out of zero is what the federal coalition got because it is a complete rabble. You don't know who your negotiator is. You don't know what you want. You have profoundly let down business across the country, you have profoundly let down the environment and you have profoundly let down Australia, because all you care about is who gets to be the leader.