Committee has delayed decision after some Liberals criticised proposal but Keith Pitt says it should ‘do its job’
The federal resources minister, Keith Pitt, has warned parliament’s joint standing committee on trade and investment growth to “do its job” after the group deferred a decision on whether to conduct a controversial inquiry into the climate policies of banks and insurers.
Pitt has asked the parliamentary committee, chaired by his Queensland Nationals colleague George Christensen, to investigate how climate change is impacting the lending decisions of banks.
With Pitt’s backing, Christensen, who has denied the link between climate change and the severity of natural disasters, wants the committee he chairs to grill financial regulators the Australian Securities and Investments Commission and the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority, as well as the banks, over plans to pull back on lending or insuring mining projects because of climate change.
But in a rare upset, the committee has deferred making a decision about the ministerial referral. While the inquiry may yet proceed, the obvious go-slow follows vocal criticism from some Liberals about the proposal.
Pitt insists the process will go ahead.
“I’ve made a referral … and the committee is yet to decide whether or not to proceed,” he said. “As a minister of the crown, I expect the committee to do its job.”
All four major banks have signalled they will align their portfolios to a target of net zero emissions by 2050, with most aiming to cease lending to thermal coal companies by 2030.
The decisions by the banks – which take heed of regular warnings from regulators and the central bank about climate risk – have prompted a furious backlash from Nationals MPs who want a new coal-fired power station in north Queensland, with some even calling for a boycott of banks including ANZ.
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