Matthew Canavan (Queensland, Liberal National Party) Share this | Hansard source

Well, I don't want a coalmine there either—through you, Mr Deputy President. I don't support a coalmine in these areas. I don't support coalmining on prime agricultural land. I don't support coal seam gas in these areas. But you guys do. You support large industrial activity that destroys our natural environment. And they're doing it just to—guess what?—make money. That's why they're doing it. These guys aren't protecting the environment. They want to make money by destroying our environment.

Good people who used to be in your movement, like Steve Nowakowski, who stood for election twice for your party in North Queensland—he is aghast at it. I disagree with Steve on lots of things, but we do share a view of wanting to protect our beautiful and pristine natural environment.

But the Greens have sold out to these interests. You can tell that because this bill doesn't tackle those donations. They come in here with this moral pomposity and want to ban all these corporate donations. But guess what? They don't want to ban the corporate donations that go to the Greens. This is a massive industry. There is no industry that gets more welfare, more money, from this place than the renewable energy industries—the biggest protection racket in this country now. The budget that the Labor Party delivered this week gives another $18 billion to its failing net zero agenda.