Bare-knuckle boxing in parliament is a spectacle, but with more on the line than a belt
Bare-knuckle boxing is a fitting metaphor for politics — adults whacking each other for sport — but it's important to remember the difference: in politics, the public bears the brunt.
News of Perth potentially hosting its first official bare-knuckle boxing competition has tortured the WA Government in recent weeks.
The West Australian newspaper revealed last month the Australian Medical Association's WA branch had written about the "profound concern" it held over fighters brandishing bare fists in a sanctioned bout.
What's been glossed over in the ensuing debate is an admission from the AMA WA's President himself.
"It is argued that gloved boxing is more likely to result in brain injury than ungloved boxing," Dr Michael Page wrote in a blog post.
That's right, it's arguably more dangerous to put fighters in a ring with gloves on than without, because they can punch harder and for longer without breaking their hands.
More long-term independent research is probably required to substantiate the claims either way, but it's worth considering if boxing gloves are for safety, or the theatre of safety.
And just as gloves serve to protect a fighter's hands rather than the head of whoever's being punched, politics sometimes serves politicians rather than the people they represent.
It would be inaccurate to say the Australian Medical Association only believes getting punched by bare knuckles is dangerous — the AMA thinks getting hit in the head at all is dangerous, which is why it lobbied for Mixed Martial Arts competitions (fought with gloves) to be outlawed too.
Labor government ministers have repeatedly voiced their disdain for bare knuckle — including the premier, sports minister, and health minister — but they've refused to call off the competition proposed for next month.
Meanwhile, the WA Liberals have pounced on the government for its inaction, and for allowing a sport that it says would set a "shocking example" for young men and the wider community.
Shouting matches have ensued in parliament.
But let's be clear — both sides say organised fighting is OK. Just keep the gloves on.
For years the WA Labor government has supported MMA cage fight nights which inject millions of dollars into the economy, and the WA Liberal leader says the thin piece of padding on an MMA fighter's knuckles differentiates sport from "barbaric" violence.
Whether bare-knuckle fighting should be allowed, or not, is a worthwhile discussion.
The question is whether debates should be guided by evidence, or by arbitrary lines drawn for political point scoring.
And that goes for issues of national importance too — such as last week's controversial decision to extend the life of Australia's largest oil and gas project, Woodside Energy's North West Shelf.
Yet that critically important decision was not devoid of theatre either.
The extension paves the way for Woodside's proposal to develop the Browse basin which contains gas reserves large enough to fuel all of Australia's domestic needs for almost 20 years, and environmentalists say it would make it Australia's largest carbon polluter.
It's been a long road to get to this point. Countless discussions about balancing industry, economy, environment, and culture.
And here comes the theatre.
Part of those discussions is an ongoing study of the impact of industrial air emissions on ancient rock carvings in WA's north, near Woodside's Karratha gas plant.
A progress report handed to the state government in June last year was only released a week ago on a late Friday afternoon, just days before the federal government gave the North West Shelf its tick of approval.
The report came with a summary document stating "the current levels of the pollutants of most concern for the rock art are lower than the interim guideline levels".
But the summary omitted a graph line — still available in the full 800-page report — which showed five monitoring sites closest to industry were experiencing pollution above the interim guideline.
Premier Cook's response: "The science has said that modern industrial developments do not have a long-term impact."
One scientist involved in the study, who spoke to 7.30 on the condition of anonymity, said the premier's claim was "simply false".
"We're talking about what is probably the cumulative effect of decades of pollution," the scientist said.
"There is this terminological or verbal gymnastic about whether it all happened in the past and is no longer happening ... but there's no reason to conclude that it has stopped."
Theatre.
Politics is sometimes a spectacle, as bare-knuckle boxing is.
The difference is boxers volunteer to punch and get punched, while the public bear the consequences of politicians brandishing their knuckles in parliament.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
ABC News
37 minutes ago
- ABC News
Thousands of Australians are receiving ECT without consent every year
Rebecca* remembers fighting her clinical team all the way to the theatre, shouting the electroconvulsive therapy she was about to receive was against her will. "I felt completely helpless, that my body wasn't my own. I felt like I was in a movie," she said. "I was shocked they could actually administer it against my will." Health authorities describe electroconvulsive therapy (colloquially known as shock therapy or ECT) as a safe procedure, in which electrodes are placed on the head and seizures induced in the brain under general anaesthetic. Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists spokesman Dr Neil Coventry said ECT was one of the most effective treatments for severe depression and other serious mental illnesses, and modern ECT was delivered with precision and constantly monitored. "For people who are suffering and where nothing else has worked, ECT can quite literally save a life,' he said. Months on from her treatment, Rebecca is happier than before, and doesn't discount that ECT, as well medication or personal changes, may have benefited her. However, she describes the experience of having it forced upon her differently: "Invasive, old-fashioned, and frightening," she said. Rebecca was admitted to hospital voluntarily last year after experiencing periods of delusion, which included attempting to take a holiday without any identification or tickets. "I probably wasn't very well, but I'd never been like that before," she said. Shortly after admission, she was placed under a treatment order and told she would receive ECT. In the 2023/24 year, at least 1,700 mandatory ECT orders were approved in Australia, with courses usually lasting eight to 12 sessions. The true number was likely substantially higher, with some states not measuring or reporting approvals. In Victoria, a patient must lack capacity to give informed consent before they can be ordered to have ECT — a bar Rebecca said was never passed. "I have always been aware of what ECT is, and it is certainly something I would never have agreed to," she said. With the help of Victoria Legal Aid, she appealed the mandatory order, which the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) overturned, ruling she had capacity and the ECT was scrapped. She had already received a number of ECT treatments, which she said left her foggy and with muscle pain. She also attributes ongoing memory loss that sometimes leaves her disorientated in the suburb where she's lived for a decade to the treatment. Her experience is illustrative of an issue reported by advocacy groups and contained in tribunal and court cases from around the country, which suggested rules surrounding mandatory ECT were often misunderstood or not adhered to. National Mental Health Consumer Alliance (NMHCA) chief executive Priscilla Brice said the number of people receiving ECT against their will was likely far higher than order numbers suggested, because data didn't identify recipients on guardianship orders. Feedback from NMHCA's partners across Australia identified "systemic risks" under many state and territory frameworks, Mx Brice said, including its use to enable coercive practices that violated human rights principles. Mx Brice called for the elimination of involuntary ECT. Each state had different rules, but most required a tribunal to approve clinicians' applications for involuntary ECT. Tribunals usually required a patient to be unable to give informed consent and be admitted to hospital involuntarily. Less restrictive treatments were usually required to have been tried first, and ECT had to be clinically appropriate. Tasmania was an outlier, with ECT not subject to any special regulation, although tribunal approval was still required. The state also didn't record data on orders the number of orders it was making. Although rules differ from state to state, insights from those tribunals tracking the data suggested the majority of applications for involuntary ECT were approved. Independent mental health advocate Simon Katterl, who worked at the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission, said tribunals were often criticised for "rubber stamping" ECT orders. His criticisms are echoed by Victorian Mental Illness Awareness Council chief executive Vrinda Edan. "I only know of one or two cases where the tribunal has not agreed," she said. In the 2023/24 year, New South Wales Mental Health Review Tribunal (MHRT) approved 95 per cent of the 749 ECT orders considered. A MHRT spokesperson said decision-making panels included a lawyer, psychiatrist, and a third qualified member, and all decisions were made according to the law. "Often the patient has a legal representative who takes instruction from the patient," the spokesperson said. ECT order approval rates were similarly high in other states that monitor them. In Queensland, 92 per cent of applications for ordered or emergency ECT that made it to decision were approved. In Victoria, 87 per cent of applications were approved, as were all 18 in the Northern Territory. Dr Colleen Loo, a psychiatrist and former president of the International Society for ECT and Neurostimulation, said the high rate of approvals reflected clinicians' training and awareness of the rules, rather than rubber-stamping. Dr Loo said ECT was more beneficial for patients who lack capacity, pointing to a Singaporean study of 175 recipients with schizophrenia, depression and bipolar mania. It found those lacking capacity showed greater improvements in mood, functioning, and cognition, although patients were only monitored one to two days after treatment. Similar studies had not been conducted in Australia, Loo said, because research on those unable to consent would "be a nightmare to get any ethics committee to ever agree". Victoria Legal Aid fought more than 85 ECT orders in 2023/24 at the Mental Health Tribunal (MHT) and challenged other existing orders at VCAT, with some success, according to its associate director of mental health and disability law, Catherine Leslie. She said mental health issues and distress could be inappropriately used to argue a person lacked capacity, and clinicians at times confused least restrictive treatment with optimal treatment, focusing too much on what might be quickest. "Treating teams aren't necessarily getting it right," Ms Leslie said. The issues highlighted by advocacy groups like Ms Leslie's often formed the basis of legal challenges to mandatory ECT orders, and resulted in orders being overturned. Data from VCAT showed 19 of 24 challenges since April 2023 resulted in ECT being stopped. And in a recent Tasmanian case, a tribunal heard ECT treatment for a patient was cancelled just hours before she was due to undergo it, as clinicians realised she was not subject to a valid treatment order. 'It is clear from reviewing previous reported determinations of the Tribunal on reviews of assessment orders that there has been ongoing confusion and error arising in the use of the prescribed forms … over the last 12 months,' the TASCAT said in a decision published in December. '[This has resulted] in invalid orders being made and the detainment, assessment and treatment of patients, without legal authority.' TASCAT ordered a copy of the decision be issued to the Chief Civil Psychiatrist and Statewide Speciality Director to consider if further training was needed. A Tasmanian Department of Health spokesperson said an education and training program had been introduced, and forms revised to ensure risk of errors was minimised. "Revision of provisions around ECT will be included as part of the wider review," the spokesperson said. In another decision, this time at the Queensland Mental Health Court, a woman had 12 ECT treatments overturned after a judge determined less restrictive medication options had not been exhausted. Some advocacy groups believe Australia had to shift from a paternalistic approach, where clinicians ordered ECT because they felt it was in the patient's best interest, to an approach that prioritised human rights and self-determination. Queensland Advocacy for Inclusion (QAI) chief executive Matilda Alexander said Australia's approach should be brought in line with the World Health Organisation's (WHO) stance on ECT. The WHO and the United Nations issued a guidance and practice document in 2023 that stated: 'International human rights standards clarify that ECT without consent violates the right to physical and mental integrity and may constitute torture and ill-treatment". It also said ECT was "not recommended for children" and "this should be prohibited through legislation". Only Western Australia and the ACT have banned ECT for minors, prohibiting its use on children aged under 14 and 12 respectively. However, treatment of under 18s with ECT usually required tribunal approval. The guidance also addressed the fact there is "significant controversy' surrounding ECT, noting the treatment could result in memory loss and brain damage and its use 'dramatically declined' in countries around the world. There is some debate about the risks and benefits of ECT in the medical community but both supporters and opponents acknowledge that adverse event can occur. The Western Australian Chief Psychiatrist monitored for a range of adverse events during ECT, including premature consciousness, anaesthetic complications (including cardiac arrhythmia), muscle tears, vertebral column damage, severe headaches, and persistent memory deficit. It found that an adverse event occurred in nearly 13 per cent of ECT courses in 2023/24. The ABC approached health authorities in Victoria, Queensland, NSW and Tasmania with questions about each state's regulation of ECT. All defended their approach to involuntary ECT and the effectiveness of the treatment. A Victorian Government spokesperson said it had introduced legislation to reinforce an individual's rights in 2022 in response to a royal commission into the state's mental health system. Safer Care Victoria's Mental Health Improvement Program had also been set up to strengthen supported decision making. For Rebecca, that autonomy is key. "It felt unbelievable, getting my body back, getting my mind back." *Rebecca's name has been changed to protect her identity and ensure coherence to the Mental Health and Wellbeing Act
ABC News
an hour ago
- ABC News
Popular bakery owes staff almost $250,000 in super, but 'payday' super could protect workers
Popular hospitality group All Are Welcome owes almost a quarter of a million dollars in superannuation to its current and former employees, with many staff feeling worried and concerned they won't see the money they are owed. The Insta-famous bakery — with locations in Melbourne's Northcote, Thornbury and East Ivanhoe — entered voluntary administration in February this year after accruing more than $1 million in debts. Documents shared with the ABC reveal staff are owed $243,000 in superannuation and $125,000 in leave entitlements, with the total amount owed to the ATO standing around $1.4 million. But, according to the administrator's report, the original director — Boris Portnoy — bought back the business after it entered into voluntary administration, with question marks over whether he will carry over the former business's liabilities. "[It's] quite concerning because I don't have confidence that I'm going to see that money," one former employee told the ABC. The former staff member, who has asked not to be named, says they found out about the lack of super payments in March this year. "When we received a correspondence from the administrators on the 12th of March which had some information about the business, including a section that stated how much money was owed in super, which prompted myself and others to go and check our super accounts properly." They say, despite their pay slips including superannuation contributions, this money was not reflected in their accounts. "It was clear that we hadn't been paid any super payments since around sort of September last year, which is around sort of eight or nine months worth of no super payments," they say. Multiple former staff from the bakery have told the ABC they are each owed thousands of dollars in superannuation. "[I felt] disappointed because we were led to feel quite responsible for the financial situation of the business in that there was a lot of pressure put on all of us as employees in terms of keeping the roster as tight as we can and ordering as tight as we can in order to sort of get the business across the line," said one former worker. "Then to find out that we've been withheld entitlements and hadn't been told, felt like a bit of a blindside." The former employee says there was no communication from the director and when they tried to seek answers from him, nothing was clear. "The explanation of why we weren't paid super was that the business had been struggling financially and that was a method that he was able to use in order to help him with cash flow for the business," they said. But they say nothing was provided in writing, and there was no clear timeframe on when staff may see their money. "I'm not sure what's changed in order to allow him to pay that moving forward in a different manner." During this period, Mr Portnoy also lent himself $235,028 through his family trust, which documents reveal "were made to him in lieu of a wage". In a statement to the ABC, Mr Portnoy said: "As part of the business purchase all outstanding employee entitlements are to be assumed by the new company. "The timing for the payment of the superannuation is being determined by the administrators and we will have a firm timeline after finalisation of the liquidation," he said. The administrator did not respond to the ABC's request for comment. Superannuation advocates have been pushing for "payday super" to help minimise this problem. "Payday super, as it sounds on the tin, is your super paid on the same day as your wages," said Mary Delahunty, chief executive officer of the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA). Some employers already do this, but it's not a requirement. If the law changes, everyone will get their superannuation payments at the same time as their wages. If it had been in place, the former staff of All Are Welcome are unlikely to have had such a large amount of super owing to them. Superannuation is not covered under the Fair Entitlements Guarantee, which protects some of the money owed to workers when a business goes under. "They are due to be paid. Unpaid super is an obligation still, even through a liquidation process. And they have a priority sort of setting in the liquidation processes," Ms Delahunty said. She said the most common way people were paid wages was fortnightly, "but monthly is also very common". Payments to superannuation however are most commonly paid either quarterly or monthly. Because of this, some small businesses use superannuation payments as a kind of overdraft or "credit card", helping them to smooth cash flow issues — when the timing of income and payments doesn't line up. Payday super should allow such problems to be seen sooner, she adds. "It would allow for non-compliance with payments to be seen more regularly … [people] could chase it up and the ATO could do their reckoning of that non-compliance in a more timely manner." Essentially, flagging problems before they get bigger. The laws, which are meant to take effect in July 2026, haven't even passed Parliament yet and a lobby group representing accountants is asking for a two-year delay. Richard Webb, superannuation lead at CPA Australia, says the industry supports the intent of payday super and the idea that people should have their deferred remuneration — such as superannuation — paid at the same time as their wages. "But the reality is that the infrastructure and the spend that many businesses will need to do to make sure that their systems are up for it is simply not doable by that time," he argues. Most workers simply receive their pay in their bank account. But for the people on the other end pushing money through the financial pipes, it's a lot harder. The Single Touch Payroll system means, for the vast majority of Australian employees, data is sent to the Australian Tax Office (ATO) at the same time the wages or salary are paid to the employee's bank account. "But in the case of superannuation contributions, there's a lot more data needed to be sent at the same time as contributions themselves," Mr Webb says. "So the cash goes one way, the data goes the other. It meets at an intermediary who mixes the data and the cash together and makes sure they all match up. And then it sends the data the various separate ways to various separate super funds [for individual employees]." That's not the only problem. Many Australians work in roles that attract penalties and bonuses, such as extra pay for unsociable hours and weekend work. Others receive commissions on sales that can take time to be calculated — such as when the product is delivered or when the client pays — making the amount of super for a defined period like a fortnight difficult to accurately calculate. CPA Australia represents 170,000 accountants dotted throughout the world, with members working in different areas of accounting, finance and regulation. Mr Webb agrees the current system needs to change. When it goes bad and employees are short-changed, Mr Webb adds, the delay can make it harder to ascertain the figures owed. "So we think that having them paid near each other makes it a lot easier ultimately for employers, who are paying smaller amounts out rather than one big lump sum at the end of the quarter," he said. "It means that everyone can have everything nicely and neatly bundled in the same place where they can see it." But he doesn't see the industry ready by the mooted deadline of July 1, 2026. Even workers who don't suffer the misfortune of their employer going under could benefit. Due to the effect of compound interest — the returns from investments and interest building on top of itself — just the shift to more frequent payments will boost the retirement savings of millions. ASFA's Mary Delahunty says a shift from being paid superannuation quarterly (once every three months) to every fortnight will add up.
ABC News
4 hours ago
- ABC News
Woodside's massive gas extension explained
Sam Hawley: Woodside is on a winning ticket. It's had the life of its massive gas project in Western Australia extended by 40 years. That's great news for the oil and gas giant that will export almost all of the gas overseas. But what's in it for us? And what about the climate? Today, Jo Lauda from the ABC's climate team on why the Albanese government has approved the extension, even though we're meant to be going renewable. I'm Sam Hawley on Gadigal land in Sydney. This is ABC News Daily. News report: To some breaking news for you now. The life of Australia's largest oil and gas project will be extended to 2070 with Environment Minister Murray Watt to give the long-awaited environmental approval for the Northwest Shelf Project. News report: The decision has left Indigenous custodians and environmental groups devastated. Murray Watt, Environment minister: Whatever decision I make, there'll be lots of people unhappy. It's Anthony Albanese, PM: Net zero, not zero. Net zero. Protestors: Stop! Woodside! Stop! Stop! Woodside! We will challenge this at every level in every court. The climate movement is united against this project. It's an absolute climate bomb. Sam Hawley: Jo, the newly elected Labor government says it has this plan to tackle climate change. But one of its first decisions since it was re-elected was to extend the life of one of the country's biggest gas plants. And I thought we were meant to be quitting gas. Jo Lauder: Yeah, this was a really interesting first major decision for the government. And I think like you, a lot of people are really confused. So we can step through it a bit. So I guess to start with, this is the Northwest Shelf Gas Project. And so since the 1980s, gas has been extracted from basins off the Pilbara coast in northern Western Australia. This area is home to one of the largest deposits of gas in the country. And it's also where we find this gas plant. So it's the biggest, it's the oldest gas plant in Australia, the Northwest Gas Shelf. And it's run by a company, Woodside Energy. So the gas plant was due to close in 2030 until Senator Murray Watt, under his first major decision as Environment Minister, he approved that extension until 2070. Sam Hawley: Wow, that's another 40 years, so that's quite some extension, isn't it, Jo? And the thing is, it has an extraordinary Indigenous history as well, doesn't it, this area? Jo Lauder: Yeah, so it doesn't just have huge gas reserves. This area is also home to an estimated one million petroglyphs. And so these are rock carvings and art, and these are believed to date back as far as 50,000 years, Sam. So really, really significant history. And so for years, local elders and scientists, they've been raising really significant concerns about the direct industrial emissions, the air pollution that's come from these nearby industrial plants and what that is doing to these rock art and how it might be degrading the surfaces of it. And so there's some suggestions that the effect of those emissions are so significant that the rock arts could be lost in 100 years. Sam Hawley: So this facility has been given the green light to run for another 40 years, and part of that, according to the government, is because LNG, liquefied natural gas, plays a key role in our energy mix. So it's supposed to be a reliable source of energy, right, throughout this transition to renewables? Jo Lauder: Yeah, so gas is going to play a role in our electricity mix going forward and also for heavy industry, which is a big part of WA's economy. And interestingly, in terms of what the world actually needs going forward, if we're going to hit our net zero targets, the International Energy Agency says we actually don't need any new or expanded coal, gas or oil projects to stay under those targets. But at the same time, you know, the Woodside's chief executive, Meg O'Neill, says that this extension of the Northwest Shelf beyond 2030 will secure reliable energy for decades to come. Meg O'Neill, Woodside Energy CEO: I think it's time that the opponents of our industry face up to the fact that they are making the energy transition harder and riskier by slowing down investment and trying to take practical options off the table. Jo Lauder: And it's also something the Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, said as well. He really talked up the role of gas as part of the transition. And that's what he said when the extension was approved. He also pointed out, you know, WA does still use a lot of gas in its electricity mix and WA has a domestic gas reservation policy. And so Woodside is meant to keep 15 per cent of the gas for the local market. And that's something the Prime Minister really talked to when he was defending this decision. Anthony Albanese, PM: In Western Australia, they are closing their last coal-fired power station at Collie in 2027. They are moving to renewables backed by gas. And that will be a really important part of the transition that will occur. Sam Hawley: But that's WA. What will it mean for gas supply for the rest of the country? Jo Lauder: Not a lot. So none of the gas from the Northwest Shelf is going to be reserved for the East Coast. And this is where people would have heard about a looming potential gas crunch, especially in Victoria and, you know, like the cold estates. So for the domestic market, for the East Coast, we'd have to buy it. And then even then, the WA network isn't connected via pipelines to the east. So it involved like a complicated process of shipping it. But really, the overwhelming majority of this gas is for export markets. So more than 85 per cent will be going to mostly Asia. So Japan, as well as China and South Korea. So the Northwest Shelf is largely an export project. Sam Hawley: Right. OK. But hang on. This sounds all very good for Woodside that will presumably make a lot of money from exporting this large amount of gas. But what do we actually get out of it as taxpayers? Jo Lauder: Yeah, it's a really good question. And so the Australian Institute, a think tank, they estimate that the Northwest Shelf extension is going to be receiving all up around $215 billion dollars of royalty free gas over that lifetime. And so at the same time, you compare it to the fact that Woodside paid $175 million in the petroleum resources rent tax on the Northwest Shelf project in 2022/2023. That's according to the Australian Tax Office. But also Woodside says, you know, across its whole business, it is amongst one of Australia's biggest taxpayers. So it says it paid more than $4 billion in taxes, royalties and levies in 2024. But the other issue as well is that this is a gas processing plant, but the gas has to come from somewhere from those different gas fields and the existing gas fields that are currently supplying it are running out. And so a bigger part of what Woodside's ambition is here is getting an extension. So there are plans in place to develop new fields and especially one called the Browse Basin. Sam Hawley: OK, so just tell me about this Browse Basin then. Where is that exactly and what do they want to do there, Woodside? Jo Lauder: So Browse is one of the country's biggest untapped gas basins and resources projects. So the gas reserves there are really significant. It's enough to meet the equivalent of Australia's demand for like 20 years. But it's quite remote. It's really far away. It's in a reef. And that's one of the biggest reasons it hasn't been developed up until this point. And actually, Woodside still needs to get approvals for Browse. It's before the Environment Minister, Murray Watt. And so that is to explore for gas beneath that marine reef system and then also to build a pipeline to connect the basin to the northwest shelf. So that's really the next stage here in this like this bigger project. Sam Hawley: OK, so Woodside has got this 40 year extension to its WA gas plant. But what it really wants now is access to the Browse Basin. And the concern about that is, is that the basin itself stores, Jo, a huge amount of carbon. Jo Lauder: Yeah. And understandably, like there's been a lot of opposition to this project from different climate groups. And it's something that is really concerned a lot of people. So the northwest shelf is already Australia's third highest emitting facility in the country. It produces around six million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions each year. And that's just what's directly produced at the facility. But on top of that, climate groups have labelled that potential extension of the Browse Basin that we were just talking about. They've called it a carbon bomb, which is their quote, because it's really emissions heavy. And this is even for gas, which is already a fossil fuel. It's got quite a lot of carbon dioxide. It accounts for about, I think it's around 12 percent of the field's reserves. And that's really high even for gas projects. And so environmental groups claim that this project could lead to up to 1.6 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions over its lifetime. And that's more than three times Australia's annual emissions output. So it's a really high number. Sam Hawley: Yeah, it's a lot. So could that then, Jo, delay our commitment and our target to meet net zero by 2050? Jo Lauder: So this is a million dollar question. And to understand that, you kind of need to know how we account for our emissions. So under Australia's emissions laws, actually all of them around the world, we only count the direct emissions. So this is in this case from extracting and processing the gas at the Northwest shelf. But because most of this gas is for export, as we were saying, the emissions that come from, you know, after the gas is sold, it's shipped and then it's burnt at its final destination. They don't count towards Australia's emissions. So towards our targets, they're what you call scope three emissions. So they're counted as emissions in the country where they're burnt. So as we said, you know, Japan, South Korea, China, they will count towards their emissions. So some estimates, if you added up the total from all of them, the total lifetime emissions from this project, some people have said it could be equivalent to a decade of Australia's current emissions. At the end of the day, you know, no matter where the emissions are counted, climate change is a global issue. So even burning that gas elsewhere, ultimately it still will affect Australia's climate. Sam Hawley: And a lot of people have actually been asking how this project got approved considering Australia's position and the government's position on climate change. Was it actually factored in to that decision? Was it discussed before this project was given the green tick? Jo Lauder: No, Sam, this is a really interesting quirk with Australia's environmental laws because under the current environmental legislation, climate change isn't actually a deciding factor. So it's not something that they are forced to weigh up the environment minister when they're looking at the project. And so a lot of experts have called out this, they've called it a massive loophole. And it means that Australia is still approving fossil fuel projects like this without explicitly considering the climate harm. And the environmental legislation is really old. It came in under Howard. And it was actually back in 2005, even back then, this was considered a loophole or an issue with environmental laws. There was a proposal to fix this by the shadow environmental minister at the time in 2005, Anthony Albanese. So he actually put a proposal before the parliament to fix what he called a glaring gap in the laws because climate change wasn't considered under these laws. Anthony Albanese, former Shadow Environment minister, 2005: The climate change trigger will enable major new projects to be assessed for their climate change impact as part of any environmental assessment process and will ensure that new developments represent best practice. We know that the Howard government has been considering and procrastinating on a climate change trigger since 1999. Jo Lauder: But you know, we're 20 years later. It's still the same issue that that loophole, that gap hasn't closed. And so instead, what has happened is Senator Watt has said the approval of this development is subject to strict conditions. The main one that they're focused on is around direct emissions or the direct air pollution that comes from the plant. The other thing is the Northwest shelf is regulated under our climate laws called the safeguard mechanism. But what happens is each plant has a limit. And so each year that goes down under this legislation. And if the plant doesn't come under their target, they have to buy offsets or credits. And that's what Woodside did last year for the Northwest shelf. So it'll continue to be regulated under the safeguard mechanism. Sam Hawley: So, Jo, what do you think? How would this be going down around the world among countries who are moving towards net zero? Is this really a good look for us? Jo Lauder: No, it's really not a good look. And I think a big part of that is this 2070 number this year. I think it's come as a real shock to lots of Australians as well, because I think the idea of net zero by 2050 is pretty firmly fixed in people's minds. And this approval is for 20 years past that. The other thing, Sam, is that Australia is really ramping up its efforts at the moment to become the host of next year's UN Climate Summit, COP 31. And these are major events. And there'll be so much scrutiny and focus on Australia's climate action. We've just recently had the latest figures out about Australia's emissions and it's not looking great. So our reduction efforts, they're kind of stalling. So they were slightly lower in the last quarter of last year. It was like 0.05 of a percent. But we're at the point where emissions need to drop if we're going to hit our 2030 target. And to get there, we're going to have to have consecutive years of pretty significant drops of around 3.6 percent or more. And so that's a really big ask where emissions are flatlining at the moment. Sam Hawley: Jo Lauder is a reporter in the climate team with ABC News. This episode was produced by Sydney Pead. Audio production by Adair Sheppard. Our supervising producer is David Coady. I'm Sam Hawley. Thanks for listening.
