12 August, 2024:

As I rise today, the cost of living is the pressing issue for most Australians. Between mortgage rate increases, the cost of groceries, fuel and energy bills—the list goes on—everyone is doing it tough. As a policy area, this issue is complex. The causes are many and varied, and there are many possible solutions. But or one of the most significant pain points—electricity prices—there is an obvious solution. It's not an easy one, but it's a very clear one. Today, I will focus on electricity prices.

Households and businesses across Australia are currently paying way too much for energy because the majority of it is still generated from fossil fuels. The CSIRO and AEMO have categorically shown in their latest GenCost report that renewable energy is the cheapest form of energy, even after transmission and storage capacity have been factored in. Renewables are also expected to remain the lowest cost power source for decades to come. Yet Australia still gets 50 per cent of our energy from old, unreliable coal-fired power plants, which are increasingly breaking down. The market operator has made it clear that coal-powered station breakdowns and rising coal prices are the main cause of skyrocketing electricity prices. The fact that the solution to the high energy bills and the solution to the climate crisis are one and the same present a remarkable opportunity for Australia.

Australians want and demand cheap and reliable energy now—not in 20 or 30 or 40 years time. I recently attended a Smart Energy Council conference, where I heard really exciting updates about how rapidly long-duration energy storage is progressing, including both batteries and other technologies such as compressed air energy storage. Also, very significantly, it was very exciting to hear how rapidly the prices for batteries are coming down, getting cheaper and cheaper almost by the day. Australians know there is no time to waste on transitioning to clean, green energy. They voted for it at the last election, voting for non-party, climate focused candidates in record numbers. They expect action.

People also understand there is an incredible economic opportunity on our doorstep—one Australia is uniquely placed to exploit. That economic opportunity is clear and substantial. We have already seen a 25 per cent additional renewable energy capacity added to our system during this term in parliament, taking the amount of electricity being generated by renewables to almost 40 per cent. It is highly significant that the wholesale energy price has come down as a result of this transition to renewable energy. Over the course of the last year, the rapid growth in renewable energy generation slashed the wholesale cost of power in the national energy grid. It also dramatically reduced our reliance on coal-fired power.

The transition to clean, cheap, renewable energy is already underway. We have abundant natural resources in Australia. We have one of the sunniest and windiest continents on earth. We have more than enough renewable resources which we can harness to meet our energy needs. We have the space, and we know it is the cheapest form of energy.

Personally, I'm very keen to see further development of household solar and a much greater deployment of both household and community batteries so that families and businesses can benefit directly from cheaper energy prices. When each Australian business and household generates enough solar power to power themselves during the day and have battery capability to keep the lights on at night, energy bills will get lower and lower and, hopefully one day, even cease to exist, as will fuel bills, as everyone transitions slowly to electric vehicles.

We can't ignore the giant distraction— (Time expired)