QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE: TAKE NOTE OF ANSWERS

Senator HODGINS-MAY (Victoria) (16:12): Woodside's Browse project isn't an economic opportunity. It is a climate bomb—a project that would unleash 1.6 billion tonnes of pollution, put our reefs at risk and make billions for Woodside while Australians get nothing except a clean-up bill. And for what?

So a multinational corporation can take Australia's gas, ship it overseas and pay next to no tax. That's the deal. Woodside gets the profits; Australia gets the pollution.

Labor says it's following the law. What kind of law allows fossil fuel projects to be assessed without considering climate impacts? What kind of law lets a project that threatens one of the world's greatest natural wonders ignore the damage that its emissions will cause?

Thanks to the Australian Conservation Foundation, new evidence is sitting on Minister Murray Watt's desk showing Browse's emissions will contribute directly to the destruction of the Great Barrier Reef through climate driven coral bleaching. The evidence is clear. The science is clear.

Now, the question is: will the minister listen? Will he stand up to the gas lobby, or will Labor once again put fossil fuel profits ahead of our environment and our communities? This is a defining moment.

If you care about the Great Barrier Reef, Scott Reef, our oceans, our marine life and making multinational corporations pay their fair share, now is the time to speak up. Tell Minister Watt that our reefs are worth more than Woodside's profits. Tell him Australians do not want another climate bomb approved—a climate bomb that depends on getting our gas for next to nothing.

Tell him enough is enough—no new gas, no drilling at Scott Reef, no more putting multinational corporations ahead of people and nature. This is your chance, Australia, to drown out the voices of multinational gas corporations who want to pollute our planet and pay next to no tax. Let's drown their voices out.

If ordinary Australians stay silent, the only voices the minister will hear are those of the fossil fuel industry—the voices of Woodside and their mates, and they have had the microphone for far too long. Make a submission. Let's get this thing killed off.

Question agreed to.