Justine Elliot (Richmond, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister for Social Services) Share this | Hansard source

I was not aware of the member for Hume's personal issue. My statement was in relation to his role as a minister in the previous government. But I'm happy to move on and talk about the more than 20 failed energy policies that those across the aisle had when they were in government. I was in fact here and saw many of them. Every week we'd have a different policy from those ones, never actually landing on one.

Now, in opposition, we do seem to have them landing on a policy in terms of climate change, which was recently released. What is it, yet again? Nuclear power. Here we go! That seems to be their only approach in terms of energy when it comes to climate change. Can I tell you that many people in my community are totally opposed to that. We know that nuclear power is (1) too dangerous and (2) too expensive. Yet again they are trotting this out, but I can tell you that in my community and across the country people are extremely opposed to nuclear power. That seems to be the only idea they have come up with over this long period of time. One of the worst things the former government absolutely refused to do was to invest in the cheapest form of energy—renewables. It took a Labor government to do that. So many communities suffered for so many years, particularly rural and regional communities, with that inaction.

We are very proud as a government to be taking decisive action when it comes to acting on climate change. We're proud that we have legislated Australia's target of a 43 per cent reduction in emissions by 2030, along with net zero by 2050, and that we're supercharging new offshore wind industry and delivering the $20 billion Rewiring the Nation investment to decarbonise our grid and take us to 82 per cent renewables by 2030—a whole range of measures that we have put in place that we are incredibly proud of. We're doing that because we know it's so important to invest in renewables.

We absolutely have to be doing that, because Australians deserve protection from the worst impacts of climate change. It certainly is an issue in my electorate. When it comes to those opposite not acting on climate change, it is a big issue. Last year we had the devastating floods. It is often very hard to articulate the devastating impacts of natural disasters like that. We see this inaction on climate change from the previous government. We know how important it is to act, and we have been acting.

We have been acting through a whole range of measures when it comes to providing cost-of-living relief for Australians. One of the most important areas where we have done that, as I say, is in power bills, and there are so many other ways as well. Right across the board we have done that, whether it be increasing—in fact tripling—the bulk-billing incentives, reducing the costs of medicines or increasing many other allowances as well. We have brought in a whole range of measures to assist Australians. We do understand one of the biggest pressures is, of course, power bills. That's why we've had so many different initiatives.

I find it remarkable that those opposite come in here and make these grandiose statements, when in actual fact their inaction often is what led us to this point. They persist in voting against any measures that will actually help Australians get ahead. I don't think they can really comprehend just how hard it is for Australians who are struggling at the moment and who need assistance. That's why our cost-of-living measures, which are so extensive, have made such an important difference. Look at our electricity bill relief. Up to $3 billion of that goes to assist people. We're working with the states and territories in terms of providing that. It will make a huge difference day to day, because people are in fact struggling.

As I say, action on climate change is something that we are absolutely committed to. We made that commitment before the election. We have followed through on that with very comprehensive measures in terms of our investment there. Yet, again, all we ever see and all we ever hear from those opposite is about nuclear energy. They just keep pulling that out. Take that to the next election and see what people say—particularly people in coastal areas like mine. They know that's where you'd have to be building it, and I can tell you that's an issue that people are completely opposed to.

In my community, people are very positive about the initiatives of the Albanese Labor government when it comes to this really strong action, particularly investment in renewables. What a great achievement that will be for our regional areas to have that investment, not just in terms of those environmental impacts but, very importantly, for the economy and for jobs in those regions. I know that's something people in my area and right across the country are very optimistic about. We can become that renewable energy superpower, and we can provide support for our regions as well, particularly in terms of their economic growth.

All of that combined with our policies is making a huge difference to Australians who are, as we know, struggling with cost-of-living pressures. In our budget we have taken decisive action when it comes to that, particularly in relation to power bill relief. I would sincerely hope that those opposite perhaps reflect on the fact that they have opposed measures we have put forward to assist people with their power bills. They should in fact be voting with us to support people, support Australian families who are struggling. On this side, we do support Australian families who are struggling through a whole range of initiatives, as opposed to the Liberals and Nationals, who have failed to do so time and time again.

See this speech in context