Sharon Claydon (Newcastle, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

It is leadership. It is what is sadly lacking from this government. This government is going to leave regional economies like Newcastle and the Hunter hanging out to dry, because it has no plan around a renewable energy future. It has no plan for jobs of the future anywhere.

Let us have a quick look at the Liberal track record on renewables. We know, as a number of my colleagues have pointed out, that Australia was ranked in the top four most attractive countries in the world for investment in renewable energies. Since the election of the Abbott Liberal government, we have now plummeted to the 10th. Just last week, I met with wind energy providers in my electorate, who came to thank me for Labor reaching a position—albeit compromised—around the Renewable Energy Target last session, because their industry was haemorrhaging. They had not had a single cent of investment since the election of this government. They know that they are an important part of the future energy mix in Australia. Indeed, they were thankful for Labor's vision and our recent announcement during our national conference that 50 per cent of our energy would be generated by renewables by 2030. I have to say that that is a far cry from what this government has on the table.

There will be, as many of my colleagues have pointed out, a very clear choice at the next election. It is only Labor that actually has a plan for the future, that looks ahead, that cares about not only the jobs of today but the also the jobs of tomorrow. It is our plan that will establish a clean energy future for Australia. It is the Abbott Liberal government and this Prime Minister who remain stuck in the past at a time when Australians are absolutely crying out for a vision for the future—a vision that must include renewable energies, and a vision that must be good for our economies and good for our environment.

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