Josh Wilson (Fremantle, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister for Climate Change and Energy) Share this | Hansard source

The Albanese government is delivering the action that Australians rightly expect when it comes to dangerous climate change. It was one of the biggest reasons for the election of the Albanese government and of this parliament in its entirety back in 2022, and responding to that justified expectation was literally the first work that this government got underway with in the second half of 2022. We straightaway increased Australia's commitment under the Paris climate agreement by more than 50 per cent. We had laboured along in this country for years with a pathetic reduction target of 26 to 28 per cent on 2005 levels by 2030. It wasn't informed by the science. The very first thing we did was increase that commitment by more than 50 per cent, with only five or six years to go. We legislated net zero by 2050. We set an ambitious target to achieve 82 per cent renewables by 2030, and we are on track. The member for Brisbane mentioned that we have reached 42 per cent renewables in Australia's grid. What he didn't mention, of course, is that we've only reached that by increasing renewable energy generation by 25 per cent in the first two and a bit years of this government.

In support of all of the measures that we took and that the Australian community rightly expects this government to do in tackling dangerous climate change—which is in the best interests of Australians and is an example of Australia at its best, as we work cooperatively with the global community and with our Pacific family—we have put in place all of the different measures that are required to get us to net zero by 2050 and to get us to that 43 per cent reduction target by 2030. We have introduced the Rewiring the Nation program, with $20 billion to make sure that our grid can accommodate all of that renewable and new storage. We have invested in the Capacity Investment Scheme, which will add 32 gigawatts of renewable energy and storage by 2030 to get to that 82 per cent target. We have a community battery program that's being rolled out around the country. We have the Solar Sunshot program, the Hydrogen Headstart program and the first ever National Electric Vehicle Strategy this country has ever had, making sure that our vehicles are cleaner and cheaper to run and that we reduce pollution in addition to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The first ever National Energy Performance Strategy was released only in April of this year, with $1.7 billion of supportive programs to help households, local governments and small and medium enterprises, with a special focus on housing improvements.

And, in making sure that the entire Australian economy, particularly large emitters, do their work to get us to our 2030 target and to net zero by 2050, of course we reformed the safeguard mechanism, which had operated utterly hopelessly under those opposite, who essentially set benchmarks that increased the headroom for all of those large emitters so that they were effectively under no obligation to reduce their emissions. We changed that. Also, the Minister for the Environment and Water moved quickly to reform the EPBC Act with an expanded and strengthened water trigger. That means that the 200 largest emitters among Australian companies need to be really serious about achieving the emissions reduction that we need—effectively five per cent year on year from those 200 large emitters. That is already beginning to have effect.

The Minister for Climate Change and Energy will deliver the third Annual Climate Change Statement tomorrow. That's yet another reform that we made in coming to government, to ensure that there is visibility, transparency and accountability for the Australian community so they can look at this parliament and this government and say, 'We have an expectation that a sensible, responsible, focused and reformist Australian Labor government will take on the biggest challenge that we have before us: responding to dangerous climate change and making sure that this country actually derives all of the very significant benefits that lie before us through the global energy transformation that is occurring, because of the comparative advantages that we have.' As the member for Brisbane said, we have the best wind and solar resources in the world—a continent-sized nation with parts of the renewable energy spectrum that we have yet to tap.

Under this government, for the first time, we have offshore wind zones, which the coalition never explored. That gives us an opportunity to spread the diurnal range in which renewable energy is supplied, building on the large-scale and household solar that's already delivered. Added to that is hydropower, new pumped hydro, concentrated solar, battery technology and green hydrogen—all of those things that we are very well placed to take advantage of, because of the size of the continent, because of the renewable energy resources, because we've got a skilled and educated workforce, because we have a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship right through our economy. That is the work that this government has done.

Already, in just a bit more than two years, the change that Australia voted for, the change that Australians want to see—particularly young Australians—is becoming real, including an increase in renewable energy generation of 25 per cent. We are on track to achieve our 43 per cent emissions reduction target by 2030. The minister for energy noted today that in the week before last we crossed the four-million-household mark, in terms of installed solar PV capacity.

We have become the highest penetration solar PV nation in the world. That started with the former Labor government. When we came to government in 2007, there were only 12,000 households that had solar PV—effectively one in a thousand—and now it is one in three. In my home state of Western Australia it is two in five. That is what started under the Rudd-Gillard government. That is what is continuing under the Albanese government, because we know climate change is real and we know that we need to be part of mitigating the impacts of climate change here for our own sake but also for the sake of our Pacific family and to be part of sensible, cooperative global action.

The environment minister has approved, in the term of this government, more than 65 renewable projects. We have the largest pipeline of investment in green hydrogen in the world. All of those things, which people should look at and take heart from, have been delivered in a little bit more than 2½ years. It is not 'mission accomplished', as the member for Brisbane says. We have never ever taken than approach. We've taken the approach that there is no time to waste, and we're going to continue to make positive change when it comes to climate change and the energy transition—every single week of this government, every month and every year. We've done that from the very beginning. We've continued that right up until the last month or so, and it will continue over the course of this summer and into next year, when, of course, Australians will have a choice. The choice is a very clear one: Do Australians want this country to be on its best path, to be on the path that suits our best interests and represents our best character? Do they want Australia to continue on the path of sensible, focused, sustained, collaborative, effective climate change action which we need to make sure that we don't suffer the worst effects of climate change? We need to make sure that we don't experience those not only in terms of our environment and our social and economic wellbeing but also to make sure that we don't miss out on all of the many opportunities that are being taken up around the world as the planet goes through an energy transition.

We know that there needs to be more renewables and storage. We're already delivering that, and we will continue to see that grow as time goes ahead. We know that, as part of the response to climate change, hydrocarbons need to decrease. We know that the days of fossil fuels are numbered as a result of the energy transformation that's occurring. But, while we do all of those things in a sensible, responsible, sustained and focused way here in Australia, we'll continue to be a responsible energy partner for countries in our region as they go through their transition in their own way. If you think about a country like Singapore, which is 700-square kilometres, probably three times larger than my electorate of Fremantle, with five or six million people, they are at five per cent renewables. They have a challenge to increase their proportion of renewable energy with a country of that land mass. They're making those efforts. They're adding new cables to have the benefit of renewable energy projects in other parts of South-East Asia. Of course, we have a proposal like that to support them as well.

There's one thing that people need to know, young people in particular. Australians made a clear choice in the middle of 2022. They said: 'We don't want this science-free climate-change-denialist madness to continue. We don't want to suffer the consequences of that. We don't want to miss out on the opportunities that come from a responsible approach to this issue.' They chose this parliament, and they chose this Albanese Labor government. From the very beginning, we have acted. Ever since, we have made massive and significant changes to ensure that we are on the right track when it comes to emissions reduction and that we're on the right track when it comes to renewable energy generation.

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