Justine Elliot (Richmond, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I am very pleased to be speaking on this MPI—the government's failure to plan for a renewable energy future—because this is an issue of great concern right across the country and in my electorate of Richmond as well. It is one of the areas that is most often raised with me by constituents. The fact is that the Abbott government have failed the people of Australia, as they have no plans for a renewable energy future—just as they have no plans to tackle climate change.

As the shadow minister rightly pointed out before, the Prime Minister today has been dragged kicking and screaming to announce these targets. We know in the past the Prime Minister has said that climate change is not real. We know that is his view. Yet today we see these targets that are not good enough—and I agree with the member for Rankin, who said that in fact they were embarrassing. It blatantly shows those opposite have no vision for the future, no vision for the country.

On this side of the House, Labor are focused on the future and we have the policies we need to improve the renewable energy sector. Renewable energy is overwhelmingly popular with Australians because they understand how effective it is and they understand how important it is. That is why we constantly see surveys and polls reflecting that, with more than 80 per cent of Australians supporting this sector. In my area I would suggest the figure is even higher, because on the New South Wales North Coast we have one of the biggest uptakes of solar power in the country. Locals tell me how important it is to expand renewables not only as an energy source but also as a suite of measures to tackle harmful climate change; they understand that.

We have a very proud record. When Labor were in government we committed to expanding solar power because we understood how important it was. When we came into government in 2007, there were only 7,000 homes with solar panels on their roofs. Now there are more than 1.3 million—a huge increase. This massive increase was underpinned by Labor's support for the industry through a number of measures, including the renewable energy target, the Clean Energy Finance Corporation and the Australian Renewable Energy Agency. All of these policies have all been huge successes. Also in our time in government, jobs in the renewable energy sector increased to 21,000, wind power tripled and    there were billions of dollars of investment in Australia's renewable energy sector.

As we have heard, in 2013, Australia was ranked in the top four most attractive countries in the world to invest in renewable energy. Since the election of the Abbott government, we are now ranked 10th. What a shameful drop, and really a reflection of this government. It is most embarrassing. What is also embarrassing is the Prime Minister's attacks on renewable energy. They are quite frankly astounding, insulting and damaging. He has openly criticised an industry that employs tens of thousands of people. Let's look at his record. He has stifled the Clean Energy Finance Corporation, he has gutted the Australian Renewable Energy Agency and he has tried, but failed, to abolish the renewable energy target. This was due to the huge community and industry support for the sector. I think the Prime Minister's efforts really show how out of touch he is with the majority of Australians.

Many people were rightly concerned about recent reports that the Prime Minister has instructed the Clean Energy Finance Corporation to stop investing in wind farms. This act is only part of this government's ongoing war on renewable energy and its constant attacks. These attacks on this sector put thousands of jobs and billions of dollars in investment at risk. This is particularly true of regional and rural areas, where the renewable sector is one of the few growth areas. We need to have this sector growing. That is something the Liberals and the Nationals just do not understand. They do not understand how devastating it is when they attack the sector.

In contrast to all of this, the opposition leader the shadow minister for the environment have outlined Labor's plans to see 50 per cent of our energy generated by renewables by 2030—a great ambition and a fantastic target. So at the next election there will be a very clear choice between Labor and the Liberal-Nationals when it comes to renewable energy. It is a clear choice, especially in regional and rural areas, where we see the National Party not supporting renewable energy. They do not support one of the growth industries in our country areas. The Nationals are part of a government determined to destroy the renewable energy sector. That is what the Prime Minister and the Liberal-National government continue to do.

But Labor is committed to action. The fact is that a Shorten Labor government will put a strong commitment to renewable energy at the centre of Australia's response to climate change. We are committed to that. Our goal for renewable energy will cut pollution, drive investment, create jobs and importantly push down power bills for families and small business. We understand how important that is. We want to see more investment in this area. We want to see more investment in solar, wind and wave energies and in new technologies as well. We are absolutely committed to that because we understand the value of renewables.

There is a very, very clear choice at the next election. There is Labor's rock-solid commitment to renewable energy, making sure that we have more jobs in that area and greater investment. Then you have the Liberal-National parties, who are doing everything to destroy this sector. People know that. People in the country know that, because you are destroying their jobs and you are destroying the chances of investing in a future for regional Australia. The fact is that people will hold the Liberal-National parties to account, and they will especially hold the National Party to account for trying their best to destroy the renewable energy sector.

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