Jerome Laxale (Bennelong, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Wentworth for moving this important motion today. Like us in government, she understands how important it is to transition our electricity generation away from fossil fuels and ageing infrastructure. She understands this and she supports this, and it's why she won her seat and the Liberal Party didn't.

Energy security is an important issue to discuss. Australians want us to work out the challenge of how we'll meet our energy needs whilst reducing emissions along the way. They voted out a government that had 22 failed energy policies, so we know that this issue matters to everyday Australians. Importantly, we know that Australians also want tangible solutions. They want and need dispatchable energy now—not a nuclear energy fantasy that is decades away. They want a shift away from fossil fuels because they know that low-emissions technology also delivers a reduction in wholesale power prices.

I'm pleased to inform that this wholesale power price reduction is happening right now. In January this year, the Australian Energy Market Operator's update stated:

Record generation from grid-scale renewables and rooftop solar is triggering wholesale energy prices and greenhouse emissions to fall …

The CEO of the Australian Energy Market Operator, Daniel Westerman, said that 'wholesale electricity prices on the east coast had halved from 2022 levels, reflecting the increasing roles that low-cost renewables are playing in daily generation'.

I'm part of a government that wants as many Australians as possible to access the dividend of renewable energy. Energy-efficient homes are not just beneficial for our environment; they offer tangible benefits for every Australian household. Electrified homes are cheaper to heat and cool, and, crucially, they are more able to access free and clean energy along the way. For people to access these benefits equitably, we know we have a lot of work to do. We need solar, batteries and wind to be accessible for everyone, whether you own your home or you rent, or whether you live on a farm or you live in an apartment. People should be able to access affordable and emissions-free energy no matter where they live.

Since coming to government, we have worked incredibly hard to overcome the 10 years of climate denial and delay from those opposite and to get this energy transition on its way. We've been working very hard, and I'd like to also acknowledge the work of the crossbench, including the member for Wentworth, for their work in this space over the last two years. The majority of people elected in this place all want the same thing. We want cheaper energy, we want energy security that's deliverable now and we want the overwhelming majority of that new energy to be renewable.

Contrast that to the alternative, to those who wasted their 10 years in government and who have chosen now, in opposition, to pursue their nuclear energy fantasy. With renewables, Labor wants cheaper energy, and the Liberals want nuclear, which has been proven time and time again to be the most expensive form of new power generation. Labor wants to deliver renewable energy now, whereas the Liberals want to wait 10, 15 or 20 years before their first reactor operates. Labor wants our new energy to be clean and emissions free, whereas the Liberals want to extend the life of dirty coal-fired power plants.

To enable renewable energy uptake in homes, we have to date committed over $1 billion to help households electrify. The Household Energy Upgrades Fund will, through financial institutions, offer low-interest and concessional loans to homeowners who want to install energy efficient technology. Not everyone has the $5,000, $10,000 or $20,000 needed to invest in this infrastructure at home. These low-interest loans will make it easier for homes to electrify and access the benefits of renewable energy. Under this plan, the Clean Energy Finance Corporation will partner with private financial institutions to offer concessional green loans, and there has been extensive interest in this program. I'm hopeful that the government can provide further updates throughout the year about these partnerships as we lay the groundwork for the widescale rollout of energy performance upgrades across households. On top of that, importantly, we've offered $300 million to improve energy efficiency in social housing properties across the state. This is just one of many policies that we've rolled out in under two years. We were elected to take action in this space. We have, and will continue to do so.

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