Michelle Landry (Capricornia, National Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Manufacturing) Share this | Hansard source

Australians are in the tight grip of a cost-of-living crisis. In my seat of Capricornia I hear from families who tell me they are struggling to put food on the table and a roof over their heads. Family owned businesses are battling to keep their doors open. Rising costs and supplies, manufacturing, and transport and energy are tearing these businesses down. One of the greatest challenges we currently face is skyrocketing energy prices. Now more than ever, we need to be working towards an effective and reliable means of energy production.

The Labor government have been absorbed in their need to meet climate change targets. They are relying heavily on renewables to deliver 82 per cent of Australia's energy supply by 2030 to reach their climate objectives. Renewable energy does have its part to play, but it is being set up to fail by Labor's complementary technology policies. Despite plans for over 80 per cent renewable energy by 2030, investment in this sector has plummeted since Labor came to government.

The Albanese government's plans to decarbonise the economy are not working. After just six months in government, they have already broken their promise to reduce our power bills by $275. In their October budget, it was predicted that electricity prices would increase by 55 per cent this year. Labor's panic-stricken legislation before Christmas to enforce a price fix on the energy market only created further pressure. Their rushed policies will result in things: bill blowouts and more blackouts.

The Albanese government is losing control of domestic supply. Their policies are restricting the use of our gas supplies and the development of gas resources that we have available. Without adequate access to energy-creating materials, it further forces us to rely on energy resources from overseas, especially from China. Our families are suffering and businesses are on their knees while they wait for Labor to find a tangible solution to this issue.

The Australian Workers Union estimates there will be 800,000 job losses if a solution is not found to being to drop energy prices. A local manufacturing business in my electorate has told me that, if something is not done to stop the increase in electricity prices, it will jeopardise their trade with overseas countries. Higher production costs have to be passed onto the consumer, leaving them struggling to be competitive in an already volatile overseas market. This family owned business has been around for generations. They have supported hundreds of locals with jobs, contributed significantly to the economy, and helped put manufacturing in Central Queensland on the map. This is just one business out of many across my electorate of Capricornia that is facing the same challenges.

We need to look at better short- and long-term solutions to our energy crisis. In the short to medium term, the focus needs to be on supply. While in government, the coalition ensured that gas continued to come onto the market to support the demand for power. Unfortunately, the current government has not been engaging with the market and states to unlock more gas for use during this energy crisis.

Labor has no long-term solution. They are floundering and taking stabs in the dark, which threatens to leave Australians in the dark. Now is the time to talk nuclear and the role that it can play alongside other technologies to reduce how we pay for electricity and strengthen our manufacturing businesses. In order to achieve an outcome that meets climate change objectives while also lowering the cost of energy, our focus must move to new technology.

Countries all over the world are successfully harnessing a range of technologies, including nuclear energy, to assist in lowering power prices. Thirty-three nations are currently operating with nuclear power, while another 50 are working on implementing nuclear energy programs to fix their power price crisis. Seventy per cent of France's energy supply is constituted by nuclear. The United Kingdom, a country not unlike our own, has plans underway for nuclear energy to form 25 per cent of its energy mix by 2050. These countries are ensuring they have reliable and low-cost solutions to power their nations.

Australia possesses the largest uranium reserves in the world and is the world's third-largest supplier of this resource, but we do not power our own country with nuclear energy. This untapped energy source produces no greenhouse gas emissions during operation and has a 24/7 base-load power that can be adjusted to meet the sporadic nature of renewable resources like solar and wind. Nuclear ticks all the boxes: friendly to the environment, reliable and cheap. Now is the time to begin discussions on nuclear and help our nation to begin to recover from this crisis.

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