Larissa Waters (Queensland, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That the Senate take note of the answers given by the Minister representing the Prime Minister (Senator Wong) to questions without notice asked by Australian Greens senators today.

Australians want a gas tax, so when will Labor start listening? If you want the perfect example of how Labor says one thing and then does another, take a look at the gas tax. People are being smashed by cost-of-living pressures. First it was the housing crisis, then it was the cost of groceries, now it's the cost of fuel. Yet, just two weeks ago, this government voted down a proposal by the Greens for a gas export tax. This gas tax would have raised about $17 billion which could have been used to help people in a cost-of-living crisis. It could have been used to make public transport free in a fuel crisis. It's $17 billion that could have been used to provide immediate cost-of-living relief for families feeling the pain of fuel prices. It's $17 billion that could have been spent on people instead of letting corporations make massive profits off an illegal war.

But no, Labor would rather tinker around the edges on cost of living and back Trump and Netanyahu in this illegal war than support a 25 per cent gas tax passing the parliament this fortnight. That's despite the fact polling today shows that 61 per cent of Australians actually want to tax export gas. With an erratic Trump issuing ultimatum after ultimatum, we are facing fuel shortages for months to come, and gas prices are expected to remain high for even longer. All those profits are remaining high too.

Where is your spine, Labor? People are hurting. They need a government that is willing to stand up to the big corporations, not kiss their hand. They need their government to actually finally introduce a gas tax, not continue, time and time again, to bow down to your corporate donors who are making record profits off this war. Woodside stocks are skyrocketing. Santos stocks are skyrocketing. At a time when people are feeling the compounding cost-of-living pressures of war and interest rate rises, this is no-brainer. Start working for people, not corporate profits. (Time expired)

Mehreen Faruqi (NSW, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Why is the Prime Minister so afraid to say even the word 'racism'? Even on the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, the Prime Minister's statement is peppered with words like 'respect' and 'safety' but no mention of racism. The Prime Minister's statement on the International Day to Combat Islamophobia doesn't say the word 'racism' either, and it barely mentions Islamophobia. He doesn't acknowledge the threats facing Muslim Australians, the targeting of mosques, the physical attacks on Muslim women or the media's continued vilification of our community. He talks about the Christchurch massacre without acknowledging it was committed by an Australian man driven by white supremacist views.

This omission is not an accident. It is a choice to not upset the far-right votes that he is so, so desperate to chase. Muslims celebrated the end of Ramadan recently, and we have seen Labor MPs slink their way into iftars and Eid celebrations as if they weren't the ones trying to criminalise criticism of Israel and its genocidal campaigns in Gaza and the West Bank, as if they weren't overseeing a NSW Police Force that assaults praying Muslims, as if they weren't the ones contributing to Islamophobia through their own dog-whistling or by standing on the sidelines when it counted. Senator Wong gaslights us every opportunity. The Prime Minister speaks from both sides of his mouth when confronted. Shame on them.

I have to say this: any mosque or community organisation that opens its doors to politicians who use these spaces for photo opportunities while working against our community's interests the other 364 days of the year should seriously reflect on this. I don't expect any better from the Liberals or One Nation. They have proven themselves to be racist, bigoted parties. Just yesterday, Barnaby Joyce compared migrants from Muslim countries to cattle to be bought and sold. This is who they are. No surprises there.

Labor, if you really wanted to help all Australians, including the Muslim community, First Nations community, migrants and the Jewish community, you would fund the national antiracism framework. We are still waiting to hear from you after 482 days. (Time expired)

Question agreed to.