QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE

Senator WATERS (Queensland—Leader of the Australian Greens) (14:20): My question is to the Minister representing the Prime Minister, Senator Wong. In the first three weeks of 2026, we've seen cyclones and flooding in North Queensland, floods in Sydney, fires and heatwave conditions in South Australia, and, in Victoria, the worst bushfires since the 2019-20 Black Summer and catastrophic flash flooding on the Great Ocean Road.

This extreme weather is undeniably worsened by climate change, which is driven by burning coal and gas. How can you possibly have approved the expansion of a thermal coal mine in Queensland last Friday and now be considering further drilling for oil and gas off the Great Ocean Road?