Helen Haines (Indi, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

I put it to the minister that ensuring that the work of the Net Zero Economy Authority actually achieves its purpose in communities broader than the communities transitioning out of fossil fuel energy generation means there needs to be surety that the Energy Infrastructure Commission can have the grunt that it needs to do its work. It makes complete sense to me that there needs to be strong consideration about how it will actually achieve community benefit outside of the communities that this current bill is focusing on. In regard to things like review of the commission or the authority, things like understanding whether true community benefit—and I describe community benefit as being true regional development—is actually going to be achieved by this authority if we don't have it in the legislation, there needs to be coherent, consistent, neutral advice, such as the Energy Infrastructure Commissioner has been able to give to people who have concerns, and I put it to the minister that these local energy hubs could achieve that as well. I'm not really convinced in any way that the Net Zero Economy Authority has within its legislative framework the capacity to achieve this in regional Australia. I would ask that the minister does give real consideration as to exactly how this is going to happen, because it certainly looks pretty vague on reading of this legislation, and I say that as someone who does wish to engage in good faith on this.

I have deep concerns that the Net Zero Economy Authority will not achieve its aim beyond the communities that you're focusing on if we don't get this right. We've got to stop thinking about just our social licence in regional communities; we've got to think about true long-term regional development. That's what I'd put to the minister to consider.

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