Parliament

I rise on behalf of the Greens to say that we will be vehemently opposing this disgraceful government's motion to guillotine a bill that hikes fees for universities and cuts funding for universities. We will not even have time to go to the committee stage and debate the ream of amendments that this government sent through just an hour ago. Shame on Centre Alliance and shame on One Nation for some petty deals that they've done, which Minister Birmingham defined as 'minor technical amendments to this legislation'. You've been taken for a massive ride, you know?

I am so delighted to have Senator Lidia Thorpe join us in parliament. Senator Thorpe and I will be leading the Greens to put antiracist work at the core of everything that we do. We will leave no stone unturned to tackle head-on the rising tide of racism and demand justice for First Nations people and people of colour. Side by side, and alongside communities of colour, we will fight the growing tide of far-right nationalism and tackle systemic racism. In the words of Angela Davis:

In a racist society, it is not enough to be non-racist, we must be anti-racist.

I move:

That Part 3 of Schedule 1 of the Coronavirus Economic Response Package (Payments and Benefits) Amendment Rules (No. 8) 2020, made under the Coronavirus Economic Response Package (Payments and Benefits) Act 2020, be disallowed [F2020L01165].

I move:

That the Senate—

(a) notes that:

   (i) the Government's climate-wrecking 'gas-led recovery' plan includes coal seam gas drilling in Narrabri and a gas-fired power plant in the Hunter region of New South Wales (NSW),

   (ii) on 30 September 2020, the NSW planning commission approved the Santos Narrabri coal seam gas project despite more than 20,000 submissions opposing it,

   (iii) greenhouse gas emissions from the Narrabri gas project are estimated to be 128 million tonnes over the life of the project,

Last week I visited Port Stephens to meet with community members who have been raising the plight of koalas in the area, in particular the destruction of 52 hectares of prime koala habitat for expanding the Brandy Hill quarry. Thank you to Brandy Hill & Seaham Action Group, Port Stephens Koalas, EcoNetwork and countless people who have been campaigning with passion, with commitment and with resilience to save our irreplaceable wildlife. They are rightly concerned about the irreversible loss of koala habitat and koalas in this area if this mine expansion is allowed to go ahead.

In respect of the government response to the Senate Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport References Committee report Feasibility of a national horse traceability register for all horses, I move:

That the Senate take note of the document.

Instead of investing in Australia's future, the Morrison government is choosing inequality and climate collapse in its federal budget. The federal budget to be handed down tonight is many things. I'll start by saying that it's a real contradiction. After last year's big proclamation that we were back in the black, after years of highly misleading and incorrect assertions that surpluses are all the evidence we need of good economic management, we are staring down the barrel of an enormous deficit.

The Greens want a thriving, expanding and green manufacturing sector, but this government's plan for manufacturing is based on a completely unconscionable, climate-wrecking expansion of fossil fuels. They could choose renewables, but they don't. They talk up advanced manufacturing while actively decimating local research and innovation. A manufacturing plan without funding for research and skills isn't worth the paper it's written on. The Liberals and Nationals have defunded TAFEs and gutted research. They're not interested in our future.

Senator FARUQI (New South Wales) (12:19): I rise to speak to the Higher Education Support Amendment (Job-Ready Graduates and Supporting Regional and Remote Students) Bill 2020. I want to be clear from the outset: the only correct cost of a student's degree is zero dollars. University staff, research and teaching should be protected. Our universities should be fully funded, and this bill achieves none of those aims. This bill is cruel. This bill is punitive. This bill is an irredeemable mess.

It's good to see that the government has seen some sense in having an inquiry. But you have been dragged kicking and screaming to the table, embarrassed with your tail between your legs.

Honourable senators interjecting—