Fiona Martin (Reid, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

One of the most common issues raised by my constituents in Reid is the need to secure affordable and reliable energy while addressing climate change. Time and time again, these two issues are raised in community surveys, mobile offices and, simply, when locals in my area pick up the phone to call my office. These two issues are not in competition with one another. In fact, securing affordable energy and lowering emissions go hand in hand. Our government recognises this. Our policies on energy and emissions reduction work hand in hand, driven by innovation and new technologies.

The Morrison government is improving Australia's electricity network to support more renewable energy through the $1 billion Grid Reliability Fund. The Grid Reliability Fund will ensure that Australia's world-leading deployment of renewables is integrated and backed up. The fund will support private investment in storage and transmission infrastructure, and new reliable energy generation, including gas and pumped hydro. It's not enough to simply back renewables; we need to ensure that they are a supported and sustainable source of energy as we transition away from fossil fuels. This is what the Clean Energy Finance Corporation Amendment (Grid Reliability Fund) Bill 2020 will achieve.

The Clean Energy Finance Corporation has already identified a pipeline of seven projects that could be supported through the fund once the legislation has passed through the parliament. The investment value of the project pipeline is estimated at up to $4.5 billion and would create at least 1,075 jobs, mainly in construction. This is a huge win for Australia, especially right now as Australia recovers from COVID-19. Affordable, reliable power will be critical to grow the economy and create new jobs.

Australia's experience has been that, when new energy technologies become economically competitive, households and businesses adopt them. We're seeing that firsthand with renewables right now. On an energy-only basis, costs have fallen rapidly, and we've seen a $30 billion investment in renewable energy since 2017. Australia is now deploying new wind and solar 10 times faster per person than the global average and four times faster per person than Europe, China, Japan or the United States. About two million, or nearly one in four, Australian households now have solar panels. In fact, in my electorate of Reid, the Morrison government has delivered over $81,000 for solar panels to be installed in local schools, childcare services and community groups. It's meant that schools like Strathfield North Public School or childcare centres like Abbotsford Long Day Care Centre can cut their emissions, cut their electricity costs and support greater awareness of environmental responsibility for the whole community.

While the uptake of renewable energy is promising, it brings challenges as well. While there is no shortage of investment in clean energy, the government has identified a lack of investment in the dispatchable generation needed to balance intermittent generation. In other words, we need sources of reliable energy stored or ready to dispatch to balance our supply-and-demand needs. Wind and solar power are great renewable sources, but they rely on unpredictable factors—namely, our weather—to produce the energy, and this is why we are investing in flexible backup generation and storage, gas, pumped hydro, and batteries to balance and integrate high shares of renewable energies. That's why our technology focused approach is so practical. By focusing on getting the costs of new technologies down, we won't raise the cost of the incumbent technologies like coal and gas that continue to play an important role in our energy mix as we transition to a low-emissions economy.

If passed, this bill will help drive our transition to a low-emissions economy, it will secure reliable energy and it will create jobs for Australians. Through the Grid Reliability Fund, the government will invest in the new energy generation, storage and transmission infrastructure that's necessary to ensure the future reliability of our electricity systems. By pursuing a technology-not-taxes approach, we will achieve our emissions reduction targets cost-effectively whilst maintaining our energy security. But Labor have said they will oppose this bill. They will oppose affordable, reliable power. They will oppose new jobs across the sectors. They will oppose our transition to a low-emissions economy. The modern Labor Party is so busy fighting over its green ideology that it cannot agree on any practical solutions for Australia's energy needs. Labor's position on the bill will show whether it is on the side of technologies or on the side of taxes. Right now, Australians do not want further taxes. They do not want to be burdened by higher electricity costs. What Australia needs right now is support for a diversified energy sector, greater job creation and a technology-led transition to a low-emissions economy. The sustainability of our energy grid and our environment relies on what this bill will deliver: a practical, technology-led plan for affordable energy and emissions reduction.

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