UPDATE: The Queensland Climate Transition Bill has been referred to the State Development and Regional Industries Committee for consideration. Submissions have now closed, and the committee's report is due on 15 September 2023. We expect Parliament to debate the Bill sometime in 2024.
In the meantime, we need your help to push the major parties to support real climate action and justice for resources workers and communities. I've created a template here where you can easily contact the Premier and your MP and ask them to support the bill.
After the 2022 Federal Election, the State Government finally agreed to urgently transition Queensland’s energy system to renewables, with a job guarantee for power station workers.
Their Energy Plan is a big step forward after years of pressure from the Greens, unions, environmental organisations, business groups, economists and scientists… but there are a few big problems:
- Labor’s emissions reduction targets are still on par with the former Morrison Government’s
- They’re still approving new coal and gas
- Their plan doesn’t include workers in the mining and exports sector
Our State Government has a responsibility to follow the science. And the science is clear: we can’t afford new coal and gas, and to meet our Paris Agreement obligations and secure a clear future for Queensland, we need a plan to phase out fossil fuel exports by 2030.
That’s why in March 2023 I introduced the Queensland Climate Transition Bill to Parliament. The bill:
- Bans new coal, oil and gas resources projects in Queensland
- Sets a 75% emissions reduction target by 2030, to reach net zero by 2035
- Legislates a target to phase out fossil fuel exports by 2030
- Creates a new Queensland Climate Transition Authority, to consult and work with affected workers and communities on a fair transition plan
You can read the Bill here, and the Explanatory Notes here. My introductory speech is here.
Queensland is both a major contributor to the climate crisis and on the frontlines of some of its worst impacts. People in our community who lived through the 2022 floods (or the 2011 floods) know that only too well. We also know that fossil fuels are on the way out globally, and denying this won’t put food on anyone’s plate.
I’m asking Labor to get on board with a climate action plan that is consistent with the science, and gives every fossil fuel worker free reskilling and a guaranteed job at the same or equal pay.
You can use this page to sign up for updates on the bill and how you can help.