PRIVATE MEMBERS' BUSINESS

Ms WATSON-BROWN (Ryan) (19:02): We're hearing lectures about the climate wars. Labor want to lecture us about the climate while congratulating themselves on what they're doing. Climate wars—Labor is actually waging war on the climate.

Every time Labor opens a new coalmine, you wage war on the climate. Every time Labor opens a new gas project and every time Labor lets Santos pay no tax, you wage war on the climate. You are waging war on our planet's future.

So what is Labor's record on climate? Its record includes opening 30 new coal and gas mines in the last term of parliament; abandoning reforms under the previous environment minister, under pressure from big corporations; and, 15 days after being sworn in this term, approving an extension to Woodside's North West Shelf project, the largest fossil fuel project in the Southern Hemisphere.

It's a cruel joke to pretend that Labor is acting on climate. They're actively acting to make climate change worse. They're actively working to make climate disasters—bushfires, heatwaves and floods—worse.

They are gaslighting the Australian people who do want action on climate, who do want their homes to be safe— A government member interjecting— Ms WATSON-BROWN: Well, don't open new coalmines. You've abrogated that trust. The Australian people do want their homes to be safe from fires and floods, don't want thousands of extra deaths in our cities from heatwaves and do want to preserve our natural wonders like the Great Barrier Reef.

This is what people want, so Labor are employing a deliberate strategy to gaslight the Australian people. Here's Labor's strategy: 'What do we need to do to look like we're doing something about climate while protecting the interests of the coal and gas corporations?' The government have an intentional strategy to lie to you about climate, Australians, to distract you from what they're actually doing.

Labor wants you to focus on the coalition's implosion over net zero and away from the big coal and gas corporations pretty much screwing over everyday Australians while Labor does everything to protect them. The Labor government doesn't want you to know that many huge mining corporations are not paying any corporate tax—zilch, zero. Labor doesn't want you to know that gas corporations are giving our offshore gas away for free and making massive profits but not paying any royalties.

Labor really doesn't really want you to know that our fossil fuel exports contribute far more to climate change than domestic emissions—4.5 times more. That's the exports. Big coal and gas corporations love this focus on domestic emissions because it means you're not looking at them wrecking our climate and environment and making huge profits while they dodge taxes.

And it's a Labor government who are protecting these corporations at your expense, Australians. Don't let them fool you. Some conspiracy theories are actually real.

Here's one you'll want to hear: big corporations really do control our government. And here's the story. Mr Repacholi interjecting— Ms WATSON-BROWN: Labor promised environmental law reform—the truth hurts sometimes, doesn't it?—when they came into government in 2022.

The Greens said we were happy to work with them— Mr Repacholi interjecting— Ms WATSON-BROWN: this is what happened—to protect nature and the climate. We came to a deal with then environment minister Tanya Plibersek, but the mining industry—companies like Woodside, Santos and BHP—were not happy. They got on the phone to Western Australian premier, Roger Cook—this is all fact—who then personally called the Prime Minister to tell him to kill the deal, and he did at the eleventh hour.

Then, under pressure from the same big corporations, in February this year— Mr Repacholi: You say it's fact, but then you don't have facts. Ms WATSON-BROWN: It was fact; we were told. Mr Repacholi: How do you know it's fact?

Ms WATSON-BROWN: We were told by the former environment minister, who had signed the letter. Let's continue. In February this year, the bill was withdrawn from parliament altogether.

This is all fact. Now, one of the first things the new environment minister did was fly to Perth to consult with mining companies on the new version of the laws, his No. 1 priority to speed up approvals so big corporations can wreck the environment even faster. BHP have said they welcome the 'strong signals' from the government.

I'm sure they and the other mining companies are very happy they can keep making megaprofits and paying minimal tax and get their approvals fast tracked now without worrying about that pesky environment or the climate. Debate adjourned.