Susan Templeman (Macquarie, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Into the vacuum of policy that the opposition offers waltzes the member for New England, saying the quiet stuff out loud and proud, and going nuclear. He and his Nationals collaborators reject the goal of net zero emissions ever. Let's contrast the priorities of the opposition to those of our government. Our first piece of legislation was to cut student debt by 20 per cent. The opposition's first piece of legislation into this new parliament is not about cutting student debt but about cutting climate change action. The Nationals want to party like it's 1999. To be fair, the Howard government in 1999 was, in theory, supporting action on climate change but then changed its mind on supporting the Kyoto protocol. Even the Morrison government announced a plan in 2021 to achieve net zero emissions by 2050. So the member for New England, in this bill, is effectively tossing out the policies of previous coalition governments.

People in my community know we cannot pretend she'll be right, mate—not after fires like in 2019-20 that ravaged the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area for three months, took homes and destroyed nearly a million hectares while the eastern seaboard burned like never before and not after the increasingly frequent floods and storms, the wilder weather, that climate scientists in the 20th century predicted in this, the 21st century. Climate change is real, and reducing emissions is an imperative we owe our children and their grandchildren.

People are embracing the opportunities to do their bit to increase the amount of energy we generate through solar. Households in Macquarie across the Blue Mountains, Hawkesbury and parts of Nepean have taken up our offer of subsidies for home batteries to bolster their rooftop solar. The latest data shows 438 households in Macquarie had new batteries installed in the first six weeks of the program, putting us in the top four electorates in the state for take-up of the home batteries program. They are among tens of thousands of households and small businesses taking that next step on their solar panels and installing batteries. In fact, the biggest uptake has been in the regions, in peri-urban areas and in outer suburbs. It shows that ordinary Australians care about reducing their energy bills and reducing emissions.

The bigger picture on renewable energy is that Australia has hit new records with the volume of renewables generated, up around 30 per cent since we came to government, reaching 46 per cent of the national energy market at the end of 2024 and working towards 82 per cent of our mix by 2030. Emissions are down 1.4 per cent, or 6.5 million tons of carbon dioxide, to March this year, driven largely by Albanese government policies. There's record investment in clean energy, including $9 billion for new large-scale generation, evidence of an improved policy and investment environment. More than 18 gigawatts of renewable generation capacity has been installed across Australia since we were elected in 2022, enough to power more than six million households. Around the world, according to the International Energy Agency, global investment in clean energy will hit $2.2 trillion this year, double the amount going to fossil fuels. Last year, renewables made up 92.5 per cent of all new electricity capacity added worldwide. China will account for more than half the world's renewable energy by 2030. They are the facts.

There's another area where the member for New England ignores the facts, and that's on the use of rural land for renewables projects. For instance, in New South Wales, the Agriculture Commissioner estimates that just 0.1 per cent of rural land is needed for new energy infrastructure by 2050. We know with certainty that worsening drought and extreme weather are far worse for farmers and food prices. The opportunity of carbon credits, which are being embraced more by regional Australians looking to diversify incomes than by anyone else, is a significant counterbalance. The biggest threat to agriculture isn't net zero; it's doing nothing. That's the choice the Liberals and Nationals will make in their vote on this bill being put forward by the member for New England. Will they choose to abandon net zero targets to fearmonger without facts and stand in the way of renewable projects or will they stand with Australians who want a better future?

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