Sean Bell (NSW, Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

We've heard a lot today about other parties in this place suddenly claiming to have adopted One Nation's position on net zero, so let me give Australians a clear warning. Beware the opposition; beware the National Party. The leaders of these parties are the same politicians who have backed net zero from day one. They helped force it on this country in 2021, and now they're claiming, suddenly, they don't. I believe that this is because they see that Australians are turning to One Nation. This isn't leadership; it's panic. Unless the Liberals and Nationals are willing to stand up and actually stop destructive net zero projects in places like Loomberah in New South Wales, their words mean nothing. They're not changing course; they're simply chasing votes.

Over the weekend, the Leader of the Nationals, David Littleproud, said, 'Regional Australia is being torn apart by net zero. Let's do this in a fairer way.' Well, he's half right; regional Australia is being torn apart. Where I disagree is that there is a fair way to tear it apart. That's the danger when we let weak leaders get away with lip-service policies while the agenda rolls on underneath—while they say they're scrapping net zero, the damage continues uninterrupted. Make no mistake; net zero is still happening. The projects are still being approved, and our communities are still being bulldozed.

For years, One Nation has been the only party telling the truth. Now, the Nationals want to pretend that they've seen the light. They haven't. They're not leading; they're following because One Nation is rising and because Australians are sick of being lied to. Net zero is a disaster. It's wrecking our energy grid, killing our jobs, shutting down industries, driving up power bills and tearing our regional communities apart. Again, it was the Liberals and Nationals who helped sign us up to this mess, hand in hand with Labor, back in 2021. Now, they want you to believe they've changed course. They haven't.

One of the big new ideas they talk about is that they want to tie our emissions to the OECD average. It sounds clever, but it's a con. Most OECD countries already have net zero locked in for 2050, and many are pushing to get there even sooner. So matching the average just means we're still doing net zero and we're still headed in that same direction. Listening to the Nationals, you'd think they actually agree with Labor's plan to drive us off the cliff but that they just want to get there a few kays per hour slower. Either they don't understand what they're saying or they think you won't understand what they're saying. One Nation will not play that game.

We stand for cheap, reliable, base-load energy from coal and gas. We stand for Australian jobs, Australian industry and Australian families. We will not sacrifice the bush to please the UN or climate billionaires or teals in the city. So the next time you hear a politician say they're standing up for regional Australia, ask them if they are actually standing up for the people of towns like Loomberah. Ask them if they are standing up for towns like that across the country. Or are they standing with foreign investors and Labor and the Greens and their relentless, heartless net zero agenda? Unless they're prepared to stop what is happening to our towns and our farmlands, they're not actually standing up to or for anything. They are just trying to sound like One Nation, without having the courage to be like One Nation, and Australians can see right through it. Our Nation is leading this fight. We are putting Australians first, as we always have and we will always continue to do.

It is no secret that Australians are doing it tough. So far, every day, my office has heard from hardworking people and they are doing everything right. They're working long hours. They're paying their taxes. They're trying to raise their families. Yet they are falling further and further behind. Sadly, they are losing hope. They feel like there is no light at the end of the tunnel. The cost of living is out of control. The Labor government has no idea what ordinary Australians are going through. They have no perspective. They simply do not care or understand.

I'd like to share with you something that was shared with me by a lady named Melinda who wrote to my office. She said:

The cost of living is out of control. I already work two jobs. I have even worked three jobs while studying. And yet I still don't know how I am supposed to get ahead. It doesn't seem to matter how much the average middle-class Aussie works, the government seems to prevent us from getting ahead.

Melinda's story is not unique. There will be many Australians out there who feel the same way because it's the reality for them. They are good, honest people who are being punished while Labor chases policies—mass immigration policies and net zero policies. The crisis we are facing in Australia is not one of bad luck; it is government made. Labor's net zero obsession is driving up energy prices, shutting down manufacturing and making it even harder for families to afford the basics. Labor's open-door immigration policies are pushing up housing demand and rents, forcing more Australians into homelessness and putting massive pressure and strain on our hospitals, our schools and our education system.

The latest Newspoll stated that 64 per cent of voters want less immigration and 39 per cent want much less immigration. Why is the government not listening to Australians, and why is the Labor Party not representing them? Do they simply not care? That is why One Nation says, 'Enough is enough'. That's why we're prepared to say we will scrap the Paris Agreement. We'll restore cheap and reliable Australian energy, backed by coal and gas, and we'll end Labor's destructive era of mass immigration. We will fight to make this a country where hard work pays off and where Melinda and every Australian worker can build a future, own a home and live with dignity. The Labor government is failing the Australian people, but One Nation is here to fight with the battlers, the families and the forgotten Australians because this is our country. It's time we take it back.

I'll finish with this: Australians are hurting. Every day, families, pensioners and small-business owners tells us the same story: they cannot afford to keep the lights on, put food on the table or pay the rent. They ask, 'What is the Labor government doing?' They are making things worse. They are causing this pain and this pressure by doubling down on their net zero folly, and it is driving your power bills through the roof.

I'll share with you another story from Julie from New South Wales, who told our office this:

I'm a pensioner, and I'm very concerned about electricity prices and the cost of living in general. The Paris Accord net-zero targets are unachievable and misguided. Solar energy is an expensive white elephant. We need more coal and gas-fired power plants, and we must drop the Paris Accord to bring back affordable energy and manufacturing—

smart lady. Julie is right. This is common sense, and the Labor Party should be listening. Labor's obsession with net zero and renewables has gutted our manufacturing, killed off cheap energy and left ordinary Australians footing the bill. Labor talk about saving the planet, but what about saving Australians like Julie? One Nation is here to stand up for people like Julie where the government is failing them. We will scrap net zero. We would happily rip up the Paris Agreement, and we would instead invest in reliable, cheap and affordable coal and gas. We'd even hold discussions to explore nuclear energy because we believe it is our responsibility to put Australian jobs and families first.

The truth is simple: net zero is destroying this nation; it must be stopped. Under the leadership of Senator Hanson, One Nation has led this fight to scrap net zero. That is what One Nation has always done—led the way and saved the day. The tide is turning. We are winning this battle, and, with your help, we can take this nation back.

Senate adjourned at 20:24