Future Gas Strategy - 14 May 2024

14/5/24

The honourable member for Curtin, the question is the motion be agreed to. I stand to support the motion, condemning the future gas strategy and calling on the Environment Minister and Resources Minister to stop approving new coal and gas projects. I will say, I'm not into the politics of outrage but I am fond of common sense. Gas does have a role in the transition, it is better than coal, and it is a good firming fuel while we are working out the technology we need to be truly net zero. We do need some gas in transition, it needs to be a fraction of the gas we're using. (INTERJECTIONS) Order! We need to use as little gas as possible for as short a time as possible. This future gas strategy is not a transition strategy it is an expansion strategy. The member for Moreton, the Leader of the Australian Greens and the member for give Griffith, I would like to hear the member for Curtin. This is not a transition strategy, it is an expansion strategy. We cannot expand gas all the way to net zero. It doesn't make sense. In Western Australia at the moment we are experiencing a forest collapse event, where there are dead trees all over my electorate that have not lasted through the summer despite having lasted for 100 years before that. We know that we need to reduce the use of gas. Gas is only part of the transition if it's replacing coal, not if it's replacing renewables. The danger is if we invest if gas now, hoping the world will prefer our gas to our competitors' gas, we end up with too much gas and then gas is cheaper and starts replacing renewables instead. We cannot use short term issues to justify making bad long-term decisions. This strategy is not presented in the context that it's as little as possible for as short a time as possible. It's not clear how this strategy fits with our international climate obligations, not clear how it fits with driving reduction in demand for gas, or how it fits with prioritising domestic needs over export. We export 90 per cent of our West Australian gas offshore. We get little tax for that, the profits go overseas. It contributes to an unlivable planet. We are not sending a clear message to the investment community that we are serious about decarbonisation. It's a very mixed message saying, we're expanding gas, we're open for business to 2050 and beyond, but we are also trying to invest and incentivise renewables. We need clear signals. Alan Kohler points out that this raises the question, what is the point of all the other work we're doing to reduce emissions when it is all undone by these huge gas projects? That is why this future gas strategy is not consistent with a liveable planet it is not consistent with Australia being committed to decarbonisation. I condemn it. I do call on the Environment Minister and the Resource Minister to stop approving new coal and gas mines.

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