The Australian Greens have asked the Federal Government to respond urgently to an application seeking protection for Aboriginal heritage sites in the Pilbara from potentially damaging mining operations.

Resource giant Fortescue Metals Group is undertaking work at the Firetail/Solomon site, and there is deep concern that this is having an adverse impact on ancestral burial grounds and other areas sacred to the Yindjibarndi community.

Australia is closer than ever to a clean energy future, with the bills to put a price on carbon and invest in clean, renewable energy being debated in the Senate. These bills, which wouldn't have happened without the Greens, are a vital first step to tackle the climate crisis and transform our economy.

These are the speeches made by the Australian Greens' MPs during the debate of this historic legislation.

Woodside should move their proposed LNG hub from James Price Point, despite the pleas of WA Premier Colin Barnett, the Australian Greens said today.

Senator Rachel Siewert, Australian Greens spokesperson on the Kimberley said relocating the site did not mean that the area’s Traditional Owners needed to miss out on important community investment.

The Australian Greens have improved the operations of the new national regulator for the offshore oil and gas sector, but say the Government and Coalition have failed to adequately learn from the lessons of the Montara Oil Spill.

The Greens support the establishment of NOPSEMA (the National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority) as a national regulator with responsibility for oil well integrity, environmental management and occupation health and safety matters.

A report released by The Australia Institute report has shown that community concerns about the social and economic impact around the James Price Point development are justified, the Australian Greens said today.

Senator Rachel Siewert, Australian Greens spokesperson on the Kimberley said today that The Australia Institute’s report -  Mining the truth: The rhetoric and reality of the commodities boom highlights why West Australians are right to wonder about the expansion of the sector into areas such as the Kimberley.

Senator SIEWERT (Western Australia— Australian Greens Whip) (13:21):  The Greens have taken a fairly strong stance, as people would be aware, on these issues and particularly since the Montara inquiry. The flaws in our current regulation of the offshore oil and gas industry were made extremely apparent with the Montara oil spill. As many of you know, I have been engaged with this issue since then and flew up to the Montara well to look at the spill at that time.

The Federal Government should ignore the mining industry’s predictable negativity ahead of the upcoming announcement on the heritage listing of the Kimberley, the Australian Greens said today.

“These are last minute, panicked comments being made by an industry intent on turning the Kimberley into a mining pit with as little impediments as possible,” Senator Siewert, Australian Greens spokesperson for the Kimberley & Northern Australia said today.