Linda White (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Here we are again debating this motion. Already this motion to refer the matter to the Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport References Committee has either failed or been withdrawn on a number of occasions. The coalition are keen on persisting with repoliticising energy policy, so here we are.

The government won't support the motion, because we know the motivations of those opposite are focused squarely on the political, not the national, interest. Their motivations are about whipping up scare campaigns around energy and infrastructure that have no intention of facilitating genuine, meaningful conversation with communities. Of course it's easy for the coalition to push an agenda now that they are out of power. It's convenient for them to bring this motion before the Senate again today and pretend to engage with the energy debate in Australia, because they can claim their intentions are pure but then don't actually have to do anything. But where was the interest and concern with the energy market and the energy infrastructure over the last 10 years of their government?

The coalition had 10 years to deliver nationally consistent energy rules for Australia, but instead they had 22 failed energy policies to their name. They had 10 years to at least punt up something that lasted one term, but they were too incompetent and too divided even to manage that. Even now they have no plan to address the immediate energy needs of this country, so instead they are using this Senate reference to concoct a scare campaign which seeks to somehow position the government as appearing not to listen to regional Australia and First Nations Australians.

Of course, that is not the case. The fact is that the government acknowledges that there is a need for a conversation about building social licence in communities during Australia's energy transition, particularly because many of our traditional energy assets are ageing and, like many things in Australia, suffered under 10 years of coalition government. We know that this is an important issue in rural and regional Australia, and we want those conversations, which is why the Albanese government already announced on 4 July this year a community engagement review in relation to energy infrastructure. This review is led by Andrew Dyer, the Australian Energy Infrastructure Commissioner, and will provide advice on the best way to maximise engagement and benefit in planning, developing and operating energy infrastructure, including for the communities, landowners and First Nations people referenced in the motion we are debating. In fact, the discussion for this review was released just yesterday and is now available on the website of the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water. I had a look at that discussion paper this afternoon and, frankly, it really is clearer and more comprehensive than what we are debating right now.

The purpose of the review, and the government's intention, is to seek real feedback from affected communities. That intention is wholly different to what we are hearing in this debate and through this proposed inquiry, which seeks to further politicise energy policy in Australia and allow the Nationals to play political football with regional communities and their needs. After 10 years of not actually delivering energy certainty for their constituents—