Zed Seselja (ACT, Liberal Party, Minister for International Development and the Pacific) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Canavan for a very important question. Yallourn has provided the reliable generation needed to keep energy prices low and the grid secure in Victoria and the National Electricity Market for decades. As it's an employer of around 500 staff and an important contributor to the local economy, our thoughts are with the workers, their families and local business owners who rely on the power station for their livelihoods. While the Commonwealth government understands this is a commercial decision, the exit of 1,480 megawatts of reliable energy generation brings with it reliability and affordability concerns. As it's an essential service, the Commonwealth government expects the market to step up to deliver enough dispatchable generation to keep the lights on and prices low once Yallourn closes. While coal exits impact reliability and system security, the major impact for consumers will be the significant increase in prices if not adequately replaced with dispatchable capacity. We've already seen this happen with the closures of Northern in South Australia and most recently Hazelwood in Victoria, where wholesale prices skyrocketed by 85 per cent.

The Commonwealth will model the impact of the closure to hold industry to account on the dispatchable capacity needed to ensure affordable, reliable power for consumers. This will deliver needed transparency around the impact of Yallourn's closure. We're not going to stand idly by and watch a loss of reliability and affordability. We want to see industry step up and we also want to see that consumers are properly looked after and we get the affordability and reliability that Victorians deserve and, indeed, that all Australians deserve. What we won't do is risk the stability and affordability of our energy system, as those opposite would do. Labor have a 2050 energy policy but won't explain how they'll get there. They won't explain how much it'll cost. Labor has tried it before and will try it again. We're supporting technology, not taxes. That's how you bring down power prices and deliver reliability.