Ted O'Brien (Fairfax, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Climate Change and Energy) Share this | Hansard source

The Albanese Labor government promised Australians a $275 reduction on their household power bills, and yet this year we will see Australian families paying far more—in some cases, up to $1,000 more—than what Labor had promised. Under Labor's 'all eggs in one basket' approach to Australia's electricity system, prices will soar and the lights will go out. Australians will be poorer, and as a nation we will be weaker.

Under Labor's plan, Australia will see 90 per cent of its 24/7 base-load power stations close. Australia is turning off one system before having another ready to go. The closure of 90 per cent of our 24/7 base-load power will happen over the next 10 years, amidst a period where Labor is also suffocating the supply of gas. As for its renewables rollout, well, it has stalled. Labor came to office with grand plans of 82 per cent renewables on the grid and up to 98 per cent by 2050, predominantly wind and solar. But there is not a market analyst and there is not an energy expert in the country who says Labor is on track to achieve these targets. In order for it to achieve its 2030 target it needs to install seven gigawatts of renewables on the grid every single year. The financial close of deals last year under Labor was only 1.3 gigawatts. So they are forcing the premature closure of base-load power stations, they are suffocating the supply of gas and they've stalled their renewables rollout, which is why we see prices soar and the market operator saying that right now, this winter, we could run out of gas, and come summer we're looking at, potentially, blackouts. That was the market operator's warning.

This again comes back to an ideological approach of this Albanese Labor government, taking us down a pathway that no other nation on the planet dares to even contemplate. There is not one country in the world which is seeking to transform its electricity grid into a wind and solar grid, almost entirely weather dependent. Australia is isolated, and it's the Australian people and the Australian businesses who are paying the price. Still to this day, despite being in office for two years, the Labor government cannot tell the Australian people the total system cost of its plan. But the Australian people know, because they are opening up their power bills and they know that they are paying the highest electricity prices they ever have. Australians today are paying among the highest prices for electricity in the world, and, of course, there are threats that the lights will go out.

The coalition's approach is very different from Labor's. The coalition believes in a balanced energy mix. The coalition has a plan to deliver cheap, clean and consistent 24/7 electricity. Today, there is a degree of balance still in the system, despite Labor's efforts. Our grid today is made up of renewables, gas and coal. By the time we reach a net zero electricity grid in 2050, under the coalition we will have a balanced energy mix in that grid. We will have renewables, we will have gas and we will have zero-emissions nuclear energy.

We don't believe in the premature closure of base-load power stations. But, as coal retires from the system, it needs to be replaced with a clean energy source that can provide that 24/7 base-load power. If we look around the world, our peers are all moving towards the embrace of zero-emissions nuclear energy, and so too should we.

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