Anne Stanley (Werriwa, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Last year the House environment and energy committee published a report titled Powering our future: inquiry into modernising Australia's electricity grid. As a member of that committee, I read and heard the many submissions it received. In both public and private hearings the message was loud and clear: a well-functioning energy grid needs policy certainty. In visits to the US, to Germany and here in Australia, the message was always the same: a stable energy grid must be underpinned by stable energy policy. Policy certainty addresses both pricing and supply. Policy certainty allows genuine long-term investment in power generation and provision. Certainty also provides a stimulus for supply through new investment in plant and for innovation through funding, research and development.

Last year the committee heard evidence that the inability of the government to provide certainty has placed the equivalent of $50-a-tonne carbon price on electricity generation. Both industry and experts agree. In today's Financial Review the Clean Energy Council Chief Executive, Kane Thornton, said, 'Abandoning any attempt at long-term energy policy leaves the energy market in a state of further chaos.' Innes Willox from the Australian Industry Group said, 'If we want to bring down prices, we're going to have to sharply reduce policy uncertainty.' There's not enough time in this debate to go through the rest of the experts but there are so many more.

At every step of the way, Labor have been willing to work with the government for a genuine solution to the energy crisis. That's because, along with industry and experts, we recognise certainty. Policy certainty is the key to driving down costs for households and businesses and to mitigating the effects of climate change. During the decade of alphabet-soup energy uncertainty from the EIS to the CET and now the NEG, Labor have been willing to work with the coalition. We were willing to negotiate on the EIS, the Emissions Intensity Scheme, but it was vetoed by the member for Warringah. We were willing to work on the Clean Energy Target but, again, the member for Warringah vetoed it. We were willing to work on the NEG, the National Energy Guarantee, but, once again, instead of a policy certainty, the government surrendered to the member for Warringah and his band of antirenewable climate sceptics.

Some optimists might have hoped that the change in Prime Minister and change in energy minister would see a way forward. Unfortunately, it seems to be bad news for those optimists. Before becoming Prime Minister, the member for Cook brought a lump of coal into this House as a joke. What about the new Minister for Energy? Let's take a select quote from the new energy minister. On climate change science, in a speech to the parliament four years ago, he said:

The new climate religion, recruiting disciples every day, has little basis on fact and everything to do with blind faith.

What is very clear is that, from this quote and from five years of policy chaos, the Liberals are incapable of solving the energy crisis. The only solution, the only way forward, is to change the government. That's because Labor has the real policies, real solutions and real outcomes for all Australians A Shorten Labor government will help households and businesses get a better deal on power prices. We will overhaul the electricity offers available to consumers and scrap outdated deals so Australians pay less for power. We will force energy retailers to introduce simple, honest and transparent pricing so consumers find the best deal. And we will work with the states to implement recommendations from the ACCC's retail electricity price inquiry.

Labor is still committed to 50 per cent renewables by 2030. What would this mean for consumers? Labor's plan would mean households could save up to $165 a year on their energy bill, and average small businesses could save up to $1,500 a year on theirs. Put simply: under Labor, consumers and businesses will get a fair go. They will benefit from increased transparency, simpler bills and downward pressure on prices.

Political commentators in this country like to speak of energy policy as being a political football. Well, I was a rugby league referee for many years and I have never adjudicated a game like this. One team's members are constantly squabbling amongst themselves in the sheds, keep changing captains and are being coached by the likes of 2GB and Sky News. There is only one team on the field, one team listening to the people, and that's the Labor Party on this side of the House.

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