Chris Bowen (McMahon, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Climate Change and Energy) Share this | Hansard source

The member for New England says it isn't, but I'll refer him to the CSIRO and the International Energy Agency. He apparently knows better than them. I know the member for New England is a passionate advocate of small modular reactors and nuclear power. He's welcome to seek the call.

At the moment, I have the call, and I'm going to use it to point out that there's an energy trilemma which faces every government around the world. That trilemma is how to reduce prices, increase security and reduce emissions, and, in every single instance, renewable energy is the way to do it. Renewable energy is the cheapest way, as I've said. The International Energy Agency has said so. It's not traditionally an organisation famous for its radicalism, I must say, but it's a very good organisation. I met with the director general and senior executives of the International Energy Agency just two weeks ago, and they pointed out that utility-scale solar PV and onshore wind are the cheapest options for new electricity generation in the significant majority of countries worldwide. It is the case not just in Australia but around the world.

Of course, we have the GenCost report, a collaboration between the CSIRO and AEMO, which has found consistently for several years that wind and solar are the cheapest forms of energy and that nuclear energy is by far the most expensive form of energy, and that's particularly the case in Australia, where we don't have a nuclear industry of any scale, and where scaling it up would come at a very significant cost.

The member for New England natters away in defence of nuclear energy. He can explain his costings. He can explain how much his 80 small modular reactors, spread around Australia, will cost, and where they'll be, before the next election. I look forward to it. I welcome the debate very much. But he's wrong. He's just dead wrong on all of these questions.

In Europe at the moment, of course, they're in the midst of an energy crisis—a real energy crisis. And some deniers and delayers in this House, in the other place and elsewhere say this is the fault of renewable energy. Again, that is an utter myth. I will tell you what the problem in Europe is: overreliance on a fossil fuel from one country. It's overreliance on gas from Russia, which has been turned off. Europe is in fact doubling down on its renewable energy plans: increasing its renewable energy investments and increasing its ambition. That's what it's doing, because it knows that's the answer. And I know that the policies that this government has put in place are good when it comes to the energy trilemma that we're facing, and all my colleague energy ministers around the world know the same thing. In relation to government policies, I'm going to touch on some of the matters that the honourable members on the crossbench have raised in their speeches.

I'm pleased, but not yet satisfied, with the work that the government has done in our first nine months. We have a lot more to do, but I'm pleased with what we've done so far. I'm pleased that the passage of the Climate Change Act through both houses of parliament, supported by the government and by most of the crossbench—no support from the opposition—has engendered the renewable energy certainty that has seen a massive uplift in interest in investment in Australia. Right around the world, big investors tell me that it's the passage of the act which is the key to their decision to invest more in renewable energy generation in Australia; it has been a vital step.

The other thing I'm satisfied with is our progress on rewiring the nation, because there's no transition without transmission. We have managed to strike agreements with the governments of Victoria, Tasmania and New South Wales. There's a lot more to do, but the projects that we have agreed on with those three governments are vital. I mention particularly the Marinus Link, which was talked about by the previous government for years but which they made absolutely no progress on doing. We will build the second and third links between Tasmania and the mainland, which will be the key to unlocking the renewable energy potential of Tasmania. It is already at 100 per cent renewables and it can get to 200 per cent renewables. But it won't get to 200 per cent renewables if they have nowhere to exported to—that is the mainland—so they need the extra connections. So I'm pleased with that.

We also have more to do in relation to the announcement made just before Christmas by me and every single state and territory energy minister around the country—and I recognise the contribution of all of them. If you come to an energy ministers meeting—and I'll be honest; I'll be very frank with the House—you would have trouble working out who is Labor, who is Liberal or who is Green. All three are represented around the table, but we all have the same approach—getting the policies right to encourage renewable energy investment.

Again, the previous government talked about a thing called the Capacity Investment Scheme for years. They talked about it—they were 'gunna'. They were gunna do it. They kept saying they were going to do it because it was important. Well, it was important, but they never could deliver it. We delivered it last year. The capacity investment mechanism will unleash billions of dollars of investment in renewable energy, and many gigawatts of renewable energy generation, right across the country by a contract for difference regime agreed between the states and territories.

I'm going to take the interjection by the member for New England. He asked me what's happening in McMahon with renewable energy. People in McMahon know that renewable energy is cheaper and, guess what? So many of them are putting solar panels on their roofs, sport! That's what they know. They understand economics better than you do, champ! They understand that renewable energy is the cheapest form of energy. You're a climate change denier who stands in the way of progress. You have done so for your entire time in this parliament, and you'll be called out for it! You're one of Dutton's deniers, who sit there and whinge about renewable energy, and you should be ashamed of your blocking of progress over the years. You've been a big part of the problem in this country for the last 20 years and I'm glad that you'll be nowhere near any policy responsibility anymore, and ever will be again! You've been a block on progress on climate change action in this country!

I'm going to address the matters raised by the honourable members in relation to electrification. I agree with most of what they said in this regard: the US Inflation Reduction Act is a very good thing for the planet. It's a massive investment in renewable energy generation, and it's good that the United States, which is one of the biggest emitters in the world, has stepped up to the plate after four years of denial. The Biden administration, to its credit, has got through their Senate a very substantial package. Again, it's one of the main things I talk about with my international colleagues—how we're going to respond to the Inflation Reduction Act. We have to see that it's an addition to investment in renewable energy, not a distortion of investment in renewable energy—that it actually adds to the capacity of the world and doesn't attract investment to the United States at the expense of others.

We're in a good position in Australia: because we have a free trade agreement with the United States, we have concessions under the Inflation Reduction Act which mean that processing of critical minerals and manufacturing in Australia are treated in a very similar way to what happens in the United States. That's a very good thing. Europe doesn't have that advantage. They do not have a free trade agreement with the United States. They are very concerned about that. That is a matter of public record. We will, and I will, continue to work with the United States, with Secretary Granholm and with Special Envoy Kerry, on making sure that Australia maximises its opportunities under the Inflation Reduction Act. That will continue to be a focus of the government.

Honourable members have raised electrification. That's a very important point. The Prime Minister and I have made it clear we are working on an electrification and energy efficiency package, the National Energy Performance Strategy. I have asked my assistant minister, Senator McAllister, who has a very fine policy brain, to take carriage of developing that package for recommendation to the government, and we will continue to do that work. What we want to do is provide choices to families. This is about choice.

The member for Indi said that the government doesn't want to mandate it. She's quite right: we will not mandate it. This is an attack invented by the opposition. There was an opposition member on a TV network in the evening a few weeks ago saying, 'Chris Bowen's plan is to break into your house and steal your gas cooktop.' I can confirm this is not accurate. I'm not qualified. I'm not a gas fitter. I can't do the work. I'm nowhere near adept enough. And it is not our policy. We actually believe in giving people choices, real choices, and helping them with those choices by financial support. With electric vehicles, for example, we want people on low incomes, medium incomes and high incomes to have the chance to buy an electric vehicle. We will not see them be the preserve of only those who are wealthy. We want to see everybody with the right to take them up, and our National Electric Vehicle Strategy will make big strides. I'm pleased that electric vehicle sales are up 87 per cent under this government. But we've got a lot more work to do, and we will continue to work on the packages and plans that we can put forward to the Australian people, while the opposition continue with their nattering negativism and their climate change denial. (Time expired)

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