Peter Khalil (Wills, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the Offshore Electricity Infrastructure Bill 2021 and the associated bills. We support these bills. We commend the bills, as the previous speaker said. Why is that? Because we have called for this time and time again. As is often the case under this government, they are very late to the party. But we welcome them; finally, they've seen the light! They've heard the wind, as it is. It's great that in recent weeks the Morrison government has suddenly discovered that climate change is an issue, and the need for renewable energy. There must be a 'remind me tomorrow' button installed on the coalition's computers, for dealing with climate change. Or maybe the Morrison government is simply out of scare lines and scare tactics. Either/or, the fact remains that offshore wind has huge potential for Australia.

We are girt by sea, as we know, with endless coastlines. We are an island nation. We have some of the best wind resources in the world—and I'm not talking about some of the hot air that has emanated from the Nationals' party room or all the infighting, bluster and huffing and puffing that's gone on as they try and get to the no-brainer position of net zero emissions by 2050. Seriously, we are comparable to places like the North Sea, between Britain and Europe, where offshore energy is already an established industry.

It is beyond ridiculous now—it's ludicrous—how long it has taken us to catch up to the rest of the world. In fact, research from earlier this year found that if all the proposed offshore wind farms were built their combined energy capacity would be greater than that of all of Australia's coal-fired power plants. But, despite all this, Australia's lack of a legal framework has meant we're yet to commission our first offshore wind farm. This legislation will finally allow offshore wind to begin in earnest in Australia by setting up the regulatory frameworks necessary for offshore wind farms. It's great to see the government finally getting around to it. There are a lot of reasons—

Debate interrupted.

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