Appropriation Bill (No. 1) 2025-2026, Appropriation Bill (No. 2) 2025-2026, Appropriation (Parliamentary Departments) Bill (No. 1) 2025-2026
Senator ROBERTS (Queensland) (19:06): Let's call net zero what it really is: fraudulent, supposed science covering up income redistribution protected with big brother government measures—that's it—making everyday Australians economically, environmentally and socially worse off. Net zero measures are driving up the price of electricity and increasing prices with flow-on effects throughout the economy—food, groceries, clothing, transport, travel and accommodation.
Everything you buy goes up if electricity goes up. Manufacturing, smelting and heavy industry all use electricity and are struggling to stay in business. In 2024, there were 5,136 closures of established businesses, meaning those in business for five years or more.
In 2024, there were 10,497 business insolvencies—up almost 30 per cent on 2023. Has anyone on the Greens benches bothered to ask what these Australians who have lost everything think about what you and net zero have done to their businesses? Has anyone asked?
We have. Some of these measures are idiocy—green hydrogen, green steel, green aluminium. This technology does not work.
That is proven. It does not work, and it never will. Physics and chemistry tell us that.
It's nothing but a scheme to farm parasitic subsidies, without which the idea would not even be contemplated. These appropriations bills channel billions of dollars of taxpayer funds into the pockets of crony capitalists, lining up like pigs in a trough, and there's Minister Bowen, throwing more and more taxpayer money into the trough—wasted, but who pays? The people pay.
Small businesses pay. These appropriation bills contain significant allocations for net zero measures. First, for the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water there is $1,234,567,890.
There's $1.2 billion for what? It's support for net zero emissions by 2050 through renewable energy initiatives and emissions reduction programs. This is the stuff that comes out of the south end of a northbound ball.
Second, there is $987,654,321—nearly $1 billion—for what? It's funding for decarbonisation projects and clean energy infrastructure to achieve low emissions targets. Carbon is in every living organism's every cell.
And then, third, there is $456,789,123, almost half a billion dollars. What have we racked up so far? It's $2.7 billion.
For what? Investment in carbon abatement strategies and sustainable development to mitigate climate change impacts—carbon is in every cell of every living organism. This is just one appropriation bill.
This gravy train for the government's parasitic, big-business mates—collecting subsidies, feeding off subsidies—has been going on for years, encouraged by both major parties and the Greens. Yet the Albanese government is projecting deficits in every year of the 48th parliament totalling over $100 billion. That's money that will be needed to be borrowed and debt that everyday Australians will have to repay—$3,700 for every man, woman, baby and child in this country plus interest, and we're already paying interest in such a large quantity that it's almost the single largest line item in the budget.
A One Nation government will abolish the net zero transition. Our policy includes terminating all projects and removing all carbon dioxide accounting requirements on businesses, repealing fraudulent flood maps being used by insurance companies to price gouge consumers and to generate record profits for mostly foreign-owned insurance companies. Think of BlackRock, Vanguard, State Street, Colonial First State et cetera, the global wealth funds.
They own and control our insurance companies. We will terminate any existing project that's at a stage where termination is cheaper for the taxpayer than the continuing or where the project is too damaging to the natural environment to continue operation. We will, of course, use the generation that has been put in place until they inevitably fail in 10 to 15 years.
And, most importantly, our immigration policy will remigrate hundreds of thousands of people who have broken their visa conditions, and we will limit new arrivals to people holding skills we actually need, especially in housing—remigrate, send home, deport. Remember, net zero is not reducing carbon use per person. It's supposedly reducing Australia's carbon dioxide production to 2005 levels in total by 2035—supposedly.
Think about this—Australia's population has grown by 40 per cent since 2005. That means we all have to reduce our carbon dioxide production by an extra 40 per cent, and this figure goes up with every new migrant arrival. The pain is only just getting started unless the Senate has the courage to stop this madness and the integrity to stop this madness.
Join One Nation in saying to this government, 'Not one cent more—you've blown trillions.' I move the second reading amendment on sheet 3466 standing in my name: Omit all words after "That", substitute "further consideration of the bills be made an order of the day for the first sitting day after amendments are circulated removing all funding for net zero measures and the administration of net zero measures".