Amanda Rishworth (Kingston, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Early Childhood Education) Share this | Hansard source

I'm really happy to speak on the Offshore Electricity Infrastructure Bill 2021. Labor has been calling for this bill for some time. Just as it does with everything to do with securing jobs for the future, this government has dragged its feet when it comes to our transition to a clean energy future. This bill comes from a government that told people at the last election that having electric cars and supporting electric cars in this country would ruin the weekend. It said they would destroy the weekend. That was said at the same time that car companies all around the world are putting no new research and technology into the old cars. All the research is going into electric cars. This is government has tried to run a scare campaign on everything, yet the world is moving. If we do not act quickly, we will miss out on those jobs. That, for me, as a member of parliament, is incredibly frustrating. The government's letting politics get in the way of job creation has been incredibly frustrating.

This bill will bring into place a regulatory framework for electricity infrastructure in the Commonwealth offshore area, which will allow for the construction, installation, commissioning, operation, maintenance and decommissioning of offshore wind and other electricity infrastructure. This is a really important piece of legislation for ensuring that we can unlock the potential of offshore wind. Offshore wind is an untapped resource that blows during the day and the night—it might be news to some people in the National Party that the wind does blow at night and during the day—and has huge potential to create large amounts of electricity, which we need as we transition to a clean energy future and as the world transitions to a clean energy future. Not only does offshore wind provide huge potential for creating domestic electricity, but it provides a huge amount of potential for us to export that electricity into the future. That is incredibly exciting.

The world is transitioning. It's not just Australia that is transitioning. Of course, Australia is significantly behind the pack in our transition, but as we move forward, there is going to be demand in our region for electricity that is generated in a clean way. So offshore wind has huge potential, and this framework will play an important role in establishing that.

As I said, the government was slow to act, just as they've been slow to act and adopt net zero carbon emissions by 2050 and as they've been slow to enact a whole range of other policies. It was this Prime Minister who said that a battery in South Australia was as useful as the Big Banana. What we've seen since that battery was installed is that private investment has come along and doubled the size of that battery because it's playing such an important role in making sure that peak demand in electricity provision is met. It's also stabilising the grid; it's playing a critically important role. It's disappointing that the now Prime Minister spent so much time deriding this type of new innovation, because it's going to be this type of new innovation which will fuel the jobs of the future.

This is what it's all about. This is why other countries are trying to move quickly on these types of technologies—to develop and harness these types of technologies. We should look at how we can export these types of technologies and this type of energy, because it is a race. I know that the Prime Minister doesn't love races—that most things aren't a race—but it is a race when it comes to developing these technologies. It's a global race, because it's a global race for jobs. So while it has taken them a while to get here, I'm very pleased that finally the government have got to this position and are introducing this framework.

There are some concerns, of course, about this bill—issues that were highlighted in the Senate committee. The Senate committee examining this bill, including government senators, made some suggestions that should be included in this legislation. It was highlighted that it was important that the objectives clause should be amended to better incorporate electricity transmission and export. This is to recognise Australia's potential when it comes to offshore wind and the storage and transmission of electricity it generates, that it could power South-East Asia—especially after we harness the opportunities of offshore wind. We need to have a mind not just to employ this power in Australia but to look forward at export to other nations.

Also highlighted was that an amendment to consultation requirements for declared areas is important. We agree with the committee in expanding the consultation requirements specifically to include the minister for the environment, affected state and territory governments and energy-planning authorities and developers, and that there should be greater transparency and time frames incorporated into this declaration process. The committee supported further consideration being given to these matters as the bill progresses through the parliament. We need to bring communities, and the states and territories, along, and we need to ensure that these types of development—while recognising their huge potential—are done in a methodical way, in a way that is inclusive and consults with the relevant people. The committee also suggested that the government should consider amendments to the changes in control provisions. These are important recommendations made by the bipartisan committee to ensure that this bill is really fit for purpose, not just for today—not just in the infancy of this—but in really looking forward into the future.

As I said, these are the jobs of the future and this is a component of jobs for the future. Offshore wind electricity generation is very important when it comes to jobs. There are a lot of jobs in the construction and maintenance of these turbines. That is why we've seen already in these early discussions some communities really embracing the opportunities that come with this. As the Leader of the Opposition said, this will not be an option for every part of the coastline but there is some urgency in those parts of the coastline where there is community agreement, where there is huge opportunity, where it really makes sense to unlock this.

The Senate inquiry also heard two additional concerns that were not reflected in the final report. In particular, Labor has concerns over the bills' work health and safety framework. The committee heard substantial evidence that the government has not adopted the harmonisation of national work health and safety law in these bills; the committee heard that, instead, the government has amended those laws into an unrecognisable state. Without the harmonisation of these work health and safety frameworks, we may end up with a situation where a worker could be subject to one regulatory regime onshore, a second while in transit on a vessel and a third while working on an offshore renewable project. While I wasn't on the Senate committee, to me that seems very confusing—not just confusing in making workers vulnerable but confusing for those companies working in this space, those businesses working in this space and indeed the jurisdictions that monitor such frameworks. I think it needs further consideration. It is something that is crucial, that we need to do, and I think there is very much unfinished business.

The second of Labor's concerns is that the bills do not require local benefit to be included in the merit criteria for licences. When the minister of the day is considering whether to grant an offshore electricity licence, he or she should be required to consider the benefits of local workers, businesses, communities and First Nations people. The community heard it was important for these requirements to be reflected broadly in legislation in order to ensure that they are reflected in detail in regulations. We hope that the government will consider not only the committee's bipartisan recommendations but the recommendations made by the Labor Party, in its additional comments.

Finally: these bills are a very important piece of the puzzle, but we need a whole-of-government focus on renewable energies and clean energy technologies, and we need to be at the front of the pack in developing these. We cannot, as we have under the eight years of this government, languish at the bottom as business moves past government, as unions move past government, as communities move past government, as technology goes out on its own and as innovation goes out on its own and doesn't have a government really backing it, and doesn't have a government that has a laser-like focus on how it puts the legislative arrangements in to smooth a transition towards a cleaner energy future. Importantly, we need to grab those jobs that come with a clean energy future and will develop not only as a result of an Australian market, demanding that type of energy, but as a result of a world market demanding that type of energy. There is so much opportunity here, but we need a government that will back that innovation and those opportunities, and only a Labor government will do that. A Labor government has already announced a policy to rewire the nation, allowing renewable energy to connect to the grid. It's coming up with innovation like community solar batteries in places where communities themselves can harness the energy from the sun and trade that energy at low cost; this is a really exciting opportunity.

Of course, if we're going to harness those jobs then we need to train up our workers of the future. That's why Labor's clean energy apprentice program has the real opportunity to skill up those apprentices of the future. This is the type of thinking that we need and this is the type of thinking which will transition our economy and really grab those jobs of the future. Without that, the election of a coalition government instead will mean more of the same: lack of attention to this important issue. People's jobs will be at risk as a result. We will support this bill, but more action needs to be taken if we are going to grab those jobs of the future.

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