Dan Repacholi (Hunter, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I'll start by congratulating the member for Page for actually sitting through this MPI, because usually you guys always leave. Congratulations—that's the only bit you're going to get through this.

Yet again, I have to stand in this place and speak on a motion moved by those opposite that doesn't make much sense to me. I'm really staggered that they continue to claim that energy prices are going up because of renewables, especially when they've proven time and time again that they can't be trusted on energy policies. They're even willing to mislead the Australian people on the truth of energy prices. When they were in government they received a report that said the energy prices were going to go up, but they hid it. And the person who hid it from all of us in the country is in chamber right now—the member for Hume. They did nothing to let the Australian people know what to expect and then they acted surprised and blamed us when the prices did eventually go up—which the member for Hume knew was going to happen because he hid it from the Australian public. He can ignore me, like he is now, but he did do this.

We're always going to be upfront with the Australian people, and we're helping to make these expected price rises go down. Don't just take our word for it; today, customers of Ausgrid will receive a letter saying that their energy prices are actually going down. I think I'd rather trust the figures that I'm hearing from Ausgrid over the figures preached to us by those over there, who are driven by their stubborn opposition to the cheapest form of energy.

Let me tell you a fact that those opposite used to ignore: renewables are effective in getting energy into the grid. In fact, we're getting so much energy into the grid that we're having to build more powerlines to increase the capacity of the grid. In my electorate of the Hunter, we have always produced high amounts of energy, and this government is making sure that energy produced in the Hunter is able to be used in other areas that don't get to generate as much. Those opposite always bang on about how they want reliable power, but they don't want us to build the infrastructure that is needed to deliver it.

The motion also states that our policy is only about renewables. What a rubbish statement this is by the member for Page! You'd think that the member for Page would do his research before moving this motion but, clearly, he hasn't. If he had thought to look at our energy policy before moving this motion, he'd see our policy is far from being only about renewable energy. Instead of doing his research, he has been blinded by his party's ideological ignorance. He has come in here and moved this motion and made himself look foolish. Yes, there are some elements of our policy that do include renewable energy. Is the member for Page going to stay and listen to the end of this or not? Because I'd like him to. We would be foolish not to make the most of the cheapest form of energy available—I thank the member for Page for staying! We based our decision on facts, and the facts show that renewables need to be a big part of meeting our energy needs in the future. We have announced the $1 billion Solar Sunshot program, which will create thousands of jobs, many of these being in my electorate. Our policy will also help to see two gigawatts of power put in the grid through offshore wind, which is in the electorate of my good friend the member for Newcastle. This will create huge job opportunities for people in my electorate and also people all around New South Wales.

To say that our policy is solely about renewables is untrue. We have the gas-fired power station in the electorate of my good friend and neighbour the member for Paterson, and we have pumped hydro projects popping up everywhere. In my electorate alone, in the Hunter, we have six pumped hydro projects under development. Neither of these sources of energy fits into the solely-renewables narrative that those opposite are trying desperately to promote, but both are an important part of energy policy and play a vital role in providing baseload firming power to the grid.

Another non-renewable part of our energy policy that those opposite are conveniently choosing to ignore is the importance of hydrogen and the role it will play into the future. In my electorate is a hydrogen hub, and AGL are pushing ahead with their plans to develop the technology in Muswellbrook. In addition, Origin is also going into hydrogen at the Port of Newcastle in the member for Newcastle's electorate. But you won't hear those opposite talk about these parts of the policy, which includes gas, pumped hydro and hydrogen. I guess that if something doesn't fit into the story then they just won't tell it. It's easier for them to ignore it. But ignoring the facts does nothing to provide cheap and reliable energy. Those opposite have misled the Australian people on energy prices, and they are misleading them on energy policy as well. They can't be trusted on energy. We've seen that over the years, and we'll continue to watch what we do.

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