Senator DUNIAM (Tasmania—Deputy Manager of Opposition Business) (16:37): It's all or nothing with the Australian Greens when it comes to projects that need to occur across our country. I note that this motion calls on the Commonwealth government to unequivocally rule out approval for the project that's been mentioned here, a project described by the Prime Minister as one that is needed for energy reliability. That's something that wasn't canvassed in the contribution we've just heard or, indeed, canvassed in the motion we have before us, and that is part of my problem with the debate we're about to have. There is one word that you will never hear pass the lips of the Australian Greens, and it starts with the letter B. It's the word 'balance'. There should be a balance between the considerations of environment, the need to protect what is fragile, what is special and what needs to be looked after for future generations, against the economic imperative we have—the need to have economic activity and productivity, the need to bring down power prices, the need to have jobs in our country. A balancing of those considerations is absolutely essential, but it's something that isn't in any way considered in what we have before us here. It really is a sneak preview into something I think we may, as a country, see more and more of as time progresses. While I'm on it, a news poll came out overnight which pointed to the high likelihood of there being a hung parliament after their next election. Coming from the great state of Tasmania, which has had more than its fair share of hung parliaments, I know what goes into decline with a hung parliament, where there's a power-sharing arrangement with a particular cohort—the Australian Greens or perhaps the Tasmanian Greens. It's the economy. Jobs go missing; they go offshore. Standard of living heads south like there's no tomorrow. And this is a sneak preview of the kind of thinking we're going to have in this brave new world of coalition governments between the Greens and the Labor Party, if the polls are to be believed. I hope they're wrong, and I'll be doing my darndest to ensure that they're not accurate come election day, but I know exactly— Senator Chisholm: What about Jeremy Rockliff? Senator DUNIAM: Well, to take an interjection from the assistant minister, the good thing is the Liberals in Tasmania are not in coalition with the Greens—thank the good Lord, I say. One other thing that didn't really rate a mention in the last contribution—and I expect we won't hear it in any other contribution in relation to this, perhaps even from the government—is that we are in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis, and that is in part because of the cost of energy. This project isn't there just because Woodside want to make a dirty, great, big profit and want to destroy the environment. It's actually because we need energy to be fed into the grid. There's this shocking notion that we need resources to make our economy tick over—as if it's going to come out of thin air if we don't get it out of projects like this. The idea that, frankly, we don't need these projects to be able to generate energy in our current energy mix is quite fanciful, and, again, it demonstrates just how out of touch the Australian Greens are when it comes to ensuring we have stability in our economy and indeed in our grid. But, again, why would we worry about that when they're going to be in charge after the next election, calling the shots! It'll be the Greens tail wagging the Labor dog, if the polls are to be believed. Of course, one could be forgiven for thinking that the federal environment minister would give in to such a demand from the Australian Greens. The Australian Greens are calling on the government to unequivocally rule out this project, calling on the Australian government— Senator Hanson-Young interjecting— Senator DUNIAM: It is not an EPA motion, just to take Senator Hanson-Young's interjection there. It's a motion from Senator McKim that the federal government unequivocally rule out approval for this project, so it is a Greens motion. Frankly, I would not be surprised if the environment minister, Ms Plibersek, did rule it out, because of course the Greens are snapping at her heels in her electorate. It's the kind of thing that she will be worried about in terms of her own re-election chances and of making sure that green votes flow to her in her seat. So decisions will be made on a political basis rather than a practical one—one where we should be balancing these considerations. It's the material approach: balancing the economic against the environmental and factoring in that thing I mentioned before and I hope we hear a bit more about—but I doubt we will—and that is the cost-of-living crisis that is absolutely crippling Australian households, making it hard for business to do what they do best. (Time expired)