Louise Pratt (WA, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for the Environment, Climate Change and Water) Share this | Hansard source

We have before us today a bill that is not perfect, but it does go a lot further towards budget repair that is fair than otherwise would have been. We in the Labor Party have worked to protect those who are disadvantaged, while investing in the future. The amendments that the Labor Party has secured in the Budget Savings (Omnibus) Bill 2016 deliver $6.3 billion in savings, which is more than the government put forward in their original legislation, and provide important investments in our future, including in clean energy.

Labor is really proud of its record on driving renewable energy growth in Australia, and this continues today. We created the Australian Renewable Energy Agency and the Clean Energy Finance Corporation. Under Labor, the investment in the renewable energy industry tripled, and we were ranked among the top four most attractive destinations for energy investment in the world. Under the coalition, Australia's ranking has dropped substantially. We have fought very hard for the renewable energy industry in this legislation, against attempts by the Liberal government to destroy it. We will continue to have this fight.

Our policy, which we took to the last election, is to ensure that 50 per cent of the nation's electricity is sourced from renewable energy by 2030. So it was particularly important to us to fight to save ARENA within this bill. We have secured $800 million for the next five years. This funding, we believe, is crucial. ARENA itself says it is funding that will ensure that it can continue investment in renewable energy in Australia into the future. It is a haircut and a compromise, but it is, indeed, viable.

Renewable projects are of critical importance in many states and in a number of particular regions, including in my home state of Western Australia. If you look at a micro-economy in a place like Collie, we have industries that need to transition out of the mining boom and, indeed, out of coal, and to provide jobs and opportunities for the future. A good example of this is the WestGen biomass project, which was in the final stages of securing funding with ARENA and of negotiating with Synergy for a price for its power.

This particular biomass project near Manjimup in the south-west of WA is, critically, located not far from communities like Collie which are in desperate need of a future while jobs have been under attack. In the community of Collie, wages and conditions at the local coalmining plant have halved. This is putting a huge amount of pressure on local shops and all of the local companies throughout the Collie community. Therefore it is industries like this biomass plant that we need to look to help those communities in the future.

The power plant will deliver renewable baseload energy to the south-west using waste plantation timber. It has been developed by WA Biomass Pty Ltd—a joint venture between renewable company WestGen and US company National Power. It will supply approximately 50,000 homes and provide around 300 jobs in the construction phase with 100 jobs in the long term. When you look at the jobs created by the renewable energy industry, they are fundamentally more productive than fossil fuels in their job creation. It is a crucial project for the south-west region of Western Australia at a time when we are seeing job losses and cuts in pay and conditions. These projects are good for the environment and good for jobs, and I really wish the company all the best in going back to the negotiating table with ARENA and Synergy.

Under the Liberal agenda, as originally put forward, there would be no capacity for ARENA to fund vital projects such as this one where they are most needed. I want to thank in particular the work of unions who have lobbied to save ARENA, particularly the CPSU, the CFMEU and the AMWU. I have received lots of correspondence from residents who have been concerned about ARENA's future. We have listened to these concerns and we have committed to a renewable, clean energy for the future. We will continue to fight the Turnbull government and invest in a renewable energy future.

It is particularly worth noting that we had in the election campaign agreed to a much bigger funding cut for ARENA, but that cut was in the absence of the overall architecture that we put forward in our platform for the election for a renewable target—a much stronger target—and a cap on pollution. We have in this bill recognised that ARENA did need a significant funding platform over and above what we would have given it, should we have formed government, because it was in the absence of effective—

Senator Di Natale interjecting—

Are you even listening to what I am saying, Senator Di Natale?