Anne Webster (Mallee, National Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Regional Health) Share this | Hansard source

The Albanese Labor government told the people of Australia that they had an energy plan to solve net zero. Their energy minister all too gleefully repeats this ad nauseam in the House, mocking anyone who dares to suggest differently. He believes he's leading an energy and economic transformation bigger than the industrial revolution. The minister and his colleagues are all aboard the reckless rush-to-renewables train, with no thought as to how the lights will be kept on in every house across Australia. As part of his push, at least 80 per cent of Australia's base-load energy will be shut down by 2035. Labor are looking for a renewables-only grid, and they are trying to convince the public that any other form of energy generation is some sort of evil. They are far from technology neutral. It is Labor who are the wreckers. They are wrecking our country's access to a reliable and affordable supply of energy.

The Australian Energy Market Operator has ranked my state of Victoria as the worst state in the country for energy security. The state energy minister, Lily D'Ambrosio, cannot guarantee there won't be blackouts this summer as Victoria leads the charge to renewables. The damning AEMO report said that soaring summer temperatures due to an expected El Nino would seriously test supplies. While the biggest risk of blackouts is in January 2024, they could possibly occur from November. Supply shortfalls are also expected to drive wholesale electricity prices up, and it is families who will foot the bill. These shortfalls are being driven by a renewables agenda, with the federal government's ideology being carried forward by its Victorian Labor counterparts.

Late in 2022, the Albanese Labor government introduced a price cap on the gas market. They were warned at the time that this would risk investments and throw the market into chaos, but they ploughed ahead. What was the result? Ian Mortlock, a tomato grower in my electorate, reported to me that he couldn't get his gas company to give him any more than a month-to-month contract. Uncertainty in the market creates uncertainty for consumers. Mr Mortlock was unsure about what he would do to continue his harvesting of crops. A confident market keeps the lights on and the power prices down, but Labor, at the helm of energy policy, hasn't been able to provide that. It is cold comfort that they didn't fully ban gas altogether, unlike their Victorian counterparts, under pressure from the Greens.

We in the coalition have adopted an all-of-the-above approach because there are solutions to Australia's Labor induced energy woes if the government ceases its stubborn track and crusade. Coal-fired power stations have kept our power running for decades, but Labor will see them ripped out as soon as possible with no regard for how that will affect Australia's energy grid. Nuclear is being adopted elsewhere in the world and is proven to be clean, efficient and safe, but the energy minister speaks as if nuclear is some kind of bogeyman. He says that the coalition's proposal to use nuclear would cost $387 billion. However, his claims have since been rubbished. Former assistant secretary for nuclear energy at the United States Department of Energy Rita Baranwal criticised the minister's maths. She is now a senior vice-president of Westinghouse in the United States, whose own small modular nuclear reactor cost around $1.58 billion and will be used to supplement renewable energy as a base-load generator.

Bearing in mind that nuclear would be able to be plugged into existing grids—good story!—taking away the need for expensive new infrastructure and the destruction of social licence that comes with building transmission lines, particularly in my patch, nuclear can be part of a policy that will secure Australia's energy grid, cut emissions and also lower power bills.

Our great island continent is blessed with abundant energy sources of every kind: coal, gas, uranium, wind, solar and more. Simple economics tells you that the sensible approach is not to put all your eggs in one basket. It's time for the Albanese Labor government and its energy minister to come clean. Their energy policies are hurting the country. They are hurting the grid that keeps our lights on and our appliances working. Most of all, they are hurting everyday Australians' hip pockets.

See this speech in context