Energy

The majority voted against a motion introduced by NSW Senator Mehreen Faruqi (Greens), which means it failed.

Motion text

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,

(iv) the gas industry creates just 0.3 jobs for every million dollars spent, and

(v) coal seam gas drilling in Narrabri will increase carbon emissions, worsen the climate crisis, endanger farmers' livelihoods and jeopardise precious natural habitats, Aboriginal heritage sites, farmland and food and water security; and

(b) calls on the Federal Government to abandon their so-called 'gas-led recovery' plan, and commit to phasing out coal and gas and making Australia a 100% renewable energy superpower by 2030.