I rise to speak on the matter of urgency. The contrast is becoming so clear. As the world moves away from digging up fossil fuels, it is Australia's absolute shame that the Liberals are propping up oil and gas by funnelling endless taxpayer dollars to this dying industry. No amount of actual science or the climate disasters that we have been witnessing in our own back yard—the fires, the floods and the heatwaves—seems to convince this government that digging up fossil fuels is dangerous in the extreme. It is killing us. It is destroying our livelihoods, our communities and our planet.

Last week I travelled to Gamilaraay land to hear from community members in Coonabarabran and Gunnedah living on the front line of coal seam gas expansion in the central west of New South Wales. These communities have been fighting against dirty coal seam gas drilling for years now. It was a privilege to reconnect with locals and activists who have had their lives upturned by coal seam gas.

The Hunter Valley needs a new coal-fired power station like it needs a hole in the head. I have spent a lot of time in the Hunter Valley, and the people there know that coal has no future. They know how damaging coal is for the climate. They know how harmful coaldust is for them, their families and their children. They know that there is no future in coal, that it is a collapsing industry. The irrational exuberance of Pauline Hanson's One Nation and the coalition to keep pushing coal is criminal.

Greens Leader Adam Bandt and NSW Senator Mehreen Faruqi say the approval of the Narrabri Gas project is the first domino to fall in the Morrison Government’s gas executive-stacked energy plan, which flies in the face of the climate emergency and basic market economics.

The Narrabri Gas project is a climate disaster and it has just been approved, against the will of local farmers and the Gamilaraay Traditional custodians. 

Greens Leader Adam Bandt said:

“Scott Morrison and his gas cartel have just lit the fuse on a giant climate bomb.”

That the Senate—

(a) notes that:

   (i) Prime Minister Scott Morrison has signed off on a $2 billion deal with the New South Wales Government that would fast track the Narrabri Gas Project (NGP), which will extract gas from coal seams lying deep beneath the mighty Pilliga Forest,

   (ii) the NGP is fiercely opposed by local communities, farmers, and ecologists because it threatens the Pilliga Forest, the Great Artesian Basin, farmers' livelihoods, and food and water security, and

Australian Greens Senator for NSW, Dr Mehreen Faruqi, has said Labor and the Coalition have betrayed the Central Coast and Newcastle Community by voting down a Greens motion calling for genuine community consultation on Asset Energy’s plan to conduct seismic testing for gas.

I move:

That the Senate—

(a) notes that:

   (i) Asset Energy and their project partners are planning to conduct further seismic testing for gas off the coast of Newcastle and the Central Coast in New South Wales,

   (ii) the Environmental Plan for the seismic testing is currently being developed and, once submitted, the community will have only 28 days to respond to the regulator, and

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

I, and also on behalf of Senator Waters, move: That the Senate—

(a) notes that:

        (i) the New South Wales Independent Planning Commission (the Commission) has rejected the development of the Bylong Valley coal mine near Mudgee in New South Wales, citing concerns about the long-lasting environmental, agricultural and heritage impacts of the proposed coal mine;

        (ii) the Commission raised serious concerns about the proposed mine, including groundwater contamination and the mine's contribution to climate change through greenhouse gas emissions; and

The New South Wales Land and Environment Court's landmark decision to reject the Rocky Hill coalmine is a huge win for the community and the environment. The fact that climate change was a key reason cited for this refusal gives me hope for the future.