Parliament

It has been less than a month since Australia saw the brutal vision of racehorses being beaten, abused and cruelly slaughtered. Like most people who saw the footage, I was absolutely sickened and very angry at the evidence of hundreds of racehorses ending up at abattoirs and knackeries, where they were subjected to beatings, torture and electrocution, including of the genitals and anus. Horses were slaughtered in front of each other and bolt guns were used four or five times before horses were finally stunned. What kind of society have we become where such brutality is allowed to go on?

New South Wales is burning. In my home state, almost one million hectares have been razed by bushfires since the start of this year's unprecedented bushfire season. Lives have been lost. Over 150 homes, as at the last count, have been burnt to the ground. First and foremost, my thoughts and heart are with those families and communities and with our courageous firefighters, volunteers and emergency services. They must have the resources they need to do their jobs—not budget cuts, as the New South Wales Liberal-National government has done over years.

I rise to speak to the Treasury Laws Amendment (Prohibiting Energy Market Misconduct) Bill 2019. We know that this government will use the power in this bill to keep coal-fired power stations operating for longer. This is all about funnelling taxpayer money to coal-fired power stations. We also know that the future is in renewable energy—the future of our country, the future of our planet and all those who live on it, the future of our young people and the future of those who need a just transition from coal into long-term sustainable jobs.

I move:

That the Senate—

(a) notes that:

   (i) the Wallarah 2 Coal Project is a proposed longwall underground mining operation northwest of central Wyong on the New South Wales Central Coast,

   (ii) the proposed mine would produce 4 to 5 million tonnes per annum of thermal coal each year for 28 years, leading to more than 264 million tonnes of CO2 being released into the atmosphere, and

   (iii) the Wallarah 2 Coal Project poses a serious risk to the Central Coast's drinking water supply; and

FARUQI: My question is to the Minister representing the Minister for Health, Senator Cash. Minister, I want to ask about the report Economic and social impacts of recreational hunting and shooting, released by the Department of Health in September 2019. How much of the health budget was spent on this report? Which minister commissioned it? Does the minister believe that this is an appropriate use of the public health budget?

I move:

That the Senate calls on the Federal Government to amend the Australian Meat and Live-stock Industry Act 1997, the Export Control Act 1982 and the proposed Export Control Act 2018 to restrict the long haul export of live sheep and lambs during the northern hemisphere summer months of July, August or September in a five year transitional period, or at any time after that period, where the voyage is by ship and of duration exceeding 10 days, and where a place in that voyage is either the Persian Gulf or the Red Sea (regardless of whether it is the final destination).

The Greens support the universal right of every child to access education, and we recognise the particular hardship faced by families in isolated areas, particularly those areas in drought. Funding could include extra support for small rural schools, like Trundle Central School in the Central West or Hermidale Public School between Nyngan and Cobar, to provide extra services and care to students and their families. It could mean building new public boarding schools.

I rise on behalf of the Greens to speak to the Emergency Response Fund Bill 2019. This bill really does lay bare the Liberal-National government's logic-free approach to the wicked problems of our time. With this bill they are attempting to abolish Australia's only—I repeat, only—TAFE and university infrastructure fund, to create an opaque Emergency Response Fund, without a cent for disaster resilience or any action on the climate crisis. What a mess!

Prime Minister Scott Morrison and his government are doing extraordinary damage to Australia and are threatening our future every single day. A year ago I said that it was more and more obvious that the Prime Minister was trying to reinvent himself as a mini-Trump. If there was any doubt then, it is now absolutely clear that Mr Morrison has completed the transformation. These days there's not a shred of space between Trump and Morrison on the issues that matter.

I move:

That the Senate—

(a) notes that:

(i) 61 local councils, representing almost 6 million Australians, have declared a climate emergency, and

(ii) these local councils represent a wide range of regional, suburban and major city areas in every state and territory in Australia, including Canterbury-Bankstown City Council in New South Wales, Ballarat City Council in Victoria, Launceston City Council in Tasmania, Port Lincoln City Council in South Australia and Denmark Shire Council in Western Australia; and