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

I'd like to thank the member for Curtin for raising this matter today, and I'd like to take this opportunity to acknowledge all her hard work in this place on matters relating to Australia's transition to renewable energy. She is in this place because she wants to see Australia move away from fossil fuels and transition to renewable energy generation. On that issue, the people of Curtin, the people of Bennelong and the majority of Australians agree. It's why the member and I were both elected.

Australia elected a government to invest in clean energy, to implement land and energy policy anchored in renewable energy and to take meaningful climate action to protect our environment. We both won blue-ribbon Liberal seats because we believe in strong climate action and that Australia is uniquely positioned on the global stage to take advantage of our vast and diverse natural resources and become a worldwide renewable energy superpower.

Our country is home to some of the world's most potent solar and wind energy potential, thanks to having more sunlight than almost anywhere else on earth and above-average wind conditions. It's widely known that Australian solar is the most effective and efficient solar in the world. Our natural advantage presents a significant opportunity for Australia to transform into a renewable energy superpower which will drive substantial economic growth, create thousands of jobs and solidify our position as a leader in global climate action.

However, transitioning to a renewable energy future is not without its legislative and political challenges. Complex state approval processes remain and need to be addressed. I too have received feedback on slow state planning assessment processes and have raised the matter with colleagues accordingly. In her motion, the member for Curtin is right: decades of climate inaction have led to low investor confidence. But, since the election of the Albanese government, we have seen that start to turn around.

Since May 2022, the Albanese government has approved enough renewable energy projects to power almost two million homes. That's enough to power all households in Tasmania, South Australia, the Northern Territory and the ACT combined. That turnaround is important, but we also acknowledge that there's more to do. To further shore up investment to reach the 82 per cent electricity generation that our targets call for, the Labor government moved to provide certainty for investors in renewable electricity generation. Our revamped Capacity Investment Scheme, announced last year, will underwrite 32 gigawatts of new electricity, consisting of nine gigawatts of storage and 23 gigawatts of variable renewable energy generation.

We saw that, despite this positive progress, intervention was still needed to provide investment certainty. So we did it, and it was well received. The Australian Aluminium Council, the Australian Industry Group, Energy Consumers Australia, the Clean Energy Council, the Smart Energy Council, the Climate Council, Rewiring Australia and a host of others all acknowledged the government's Capacity Investment Scheme and how essential it was to continue a steady rollout of renewable energy.

It's not just solar, wind and battery storage; our government has invested in other forms too. Our $2 billion Hydrogen Headstart initiative, designed to kickstart local production and industry, underlines our ambition to position Australia as a frontrunner in renewable green hydrogen production. Recognising the immense potential of hydrogen as a clean fuel, this initiative is designed to catalyse technological advancements and anchor a new industrial sector capable of propelling economic growth across the regions.

All our policies are about turning our green and renewable energy potential into reality, and I challenge the member for Curtin and those who may read this speech at a later date to compare our approach in less than two years to that of the former Liberal government in nearly a decade. In their years, we had a decade of climate delay and denial, and it continues today. In the Liberals and Nationals, we have parties deeply opposed to the large-scale renewable energy rollout. In the Liberals and Nationals, we continue to have climate sceptics, conspiracy theorists and MPs spreading misinformation about offshore wind, solar farms in regions and battery storage in our suburbs. And in the Liberals and Nationals we have parties that have, in their support of nuclear energy, put forward an energy policy whose main effects will be to extend Australia's reliance on coal for energy generation.

There's a reason why the member for Curtin and I are in this chamber. We'll continue to work hard to get renewable energy as part of our energy mix.

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