Daniel Mulino (Fraser, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for the Environment and Water. What progress has the Albanese Labor government made on renewable energy approvals? What approaches has the government rejected?

Tanya Plibersek (Sydney, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Environment and Water) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thanks to the member for Fraser. I know that he is a strong supporter of the transition to get more renewable energy into our energy grid in Australia. This energy transition is real. It's happening now. We are replacing fossil fuels with cheaper, cleaner renewable energy because that will bring down emissions and it will bring down power prices.

Of course it's a big job, but we are working overtime to catch up on a wasted decade of energy policy under those opposite—22 energy policies, and they didn't land a single one of them. They were warned that 24 coal-fired power stations were closing. They did nothing to replace the energy generation required. They were so anti renewables and so chaotic that they scared investment in renewables offshore.

In contrast, under us, we see a renewable energy boom. In fact, we've already seen, as the minister for energy keeps telling us, a 25 per cent increase in renewable energy in our grid. As environment minister, I am ticking off renewable energy projects at the rate of one a fortnight. I've already ticked off 54 projects. That's enough to power more than three million homes. We're ticking off renewables projects at the rate of seven to one, in comparison with coal and gas projects.

Of course, there is an alternative. We can continue with the transition to renewable energy or we can get distracted again by the nuclear fantasy proposed by those opposite. The Australian Energy Market Operator says, 'The time it would take to design and build nuclear generation would be too slow to replace retiring coal-fired generation.' The Smart Energy Council has told us that their plan would cost $600 billion. We rely on third-party costings because although those opposite tell us they know the cost, they're not prepared to share it with the Australian public. And I'll tell you why. They're hiding it for one reason only: they know that Australian taxpayers don't want to spend $600 billion on nuclear power plants. They'd rather spend that money on hospitals, or roads, or schools or any of the things that need doing in Australia.

Nuclear energy is expensive and it's getting more expensive. Renewables are cheaper, and they're getting cheaper all the time. There is a reason that three million Australian households have elected to put renewable energy—solar panels—on their roofs. They know it brings down prices. That's what we're about. We're about bringing down emissions and bringing down power prices.