Jenny Ware (Hughes, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

by leave—On behalf of the member for Fairfax, I move:

That this House:

(1) notes:

(a) the $60 billion blackhole in the Government's energy plan, as exposed by independent analysis from a leading Australian energy economist;

(b) independent analysis has revealed that more than $60 billion of mega-energy projects, which the Government is seeking to build by 2030, are unaccounted for in the Government's logic despite their significant impact on the energy prices paid by households;

(c) the concerns raised pertain to the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation's GenCost study which evaluates the levelised cost of electricity for different energy generating technologies;

(d) the GenCost study provides the central justification for the Government's radical energy experiment and the repeated mantra that 'renewables are the cheapest form of energy';

(e) the GenCost report fails to account for the true cost of various energy generation technologies by excluding the cost of integrating them into the electricity network;

(f) that this includes projects such as Snowy 2.0, the Kurri Kurri gas plant, significant integrated system plan transmission projects, Tasmania Battery of the Nation, and the Illawarra gas peaking plant;

(g) the $60 billion price tag excludes household batteries and the distribution network;

(h) the Government has wilfully misrepresented the study to blind Australians to the true cost of the Government's plan; and

(i) the importance of a total system cost assessment for energy, including integration costs, because this will be paid for in the energy bills of Australian households and businesses; and

(2) calls on the Government to:

(a) immediately stop misrepresenting the price of various energy generation technologies so that a complete assessment can be done to determine the true optimum investment pathway for Australia's energy market; and

(b) adopt an 'all of the above' approach to energy as the Opposition has done, which allows for a mix of different technologies to be considered, including renewables.

This motion relates particularly to the $60 billion black hole in the government's energy plan, as exposed by independent analysis from a leading Australian energy economist. It's not the coalition putting this; this is coming from an independent economist. Independent analysis has revealed that more than $60 billion of mega energy projects, which the government is seeking to build by 2030, are unaccounted for in the government's logic, despite their significant impact on the energy prices paid by households. The concerns that are being raised pertain to the Commonwealth's Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation's GenCost study, which evaluates the levelised cost of electricity for different energy-generating technologies. The GenCost study provides a central justification for the government's radical energy experiment and the repeated mantra that renewables are the cheapest form of energy. We hear this over and over again from Minister Bowen. But Australians are not convinced. Australian families paying their energy bills are not convinced. Australian companies and Australian industry are not convinced.

The GenCost report fails to account for the true cost of various energy generation technologies by excluding the cost of integrating them into the electricity network. This includes projects such as Snowy 2.0, the Kurri Kurri gas plant, significant integrated system plan transmission projects, Tasmania Battery of the Nation and the Illawarra gas peaking plant. The $60 billion price tag excludes household batteries and the distribution network. This government has wilfully misrepresented the study to blind Australians to the true cost of the government's plan. We need a total system cost assessment for energy, including integration costs, because this will be paid for in the energy bills of Australian households and businesses. Therefore, the government is called upon to immediately stop misrepresenting the price of various energy generation technologies so that a complete assessment can be done to determine the true optimum investment pathway for Australia's energy market. The government must also adopt an 'all of the above' approach to energy, as the opposition has done, which allows for a mix of different technologies to be considered. This includes renewables.

The coalition is supportive of a transformation to net zero technologies, but it can't be done on an ideological basis of refusing to look at any other technologies except for renewable energy. We are now starting to see the exact cost of this government's failed energy policy, including the failure to consider keeping gas until we've got sufficient levels of base load power and the failure also to even consider looking at modern nuclear, which has been embraced by many countries throughout the world and will continue to be. There is no country in the world that has successfully moved to renewables only to power its energy supply. We are now seeing the massive cost to our country through the government's zealotry in only looking at renewable energies. This has been seen, particularly, with a $60 billion blackhole now exposed in the Albanese Labor government's radical energy experiment. The government needs to stop now, have a look at its policy, have a look at its costing and provide the Australian people with some honesty and real costing on this policy.

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