Kara Cook (Bonner, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Well, it's not Halloween just yet, but it's getting scarier and scarier on the other side of the chamber. It seems everything you need to know about the coalition and their ideological compass post-election is being set by the member for New England, even when he's no longer sitting in their party room. So lacking are they, in any positive vision for the future, that they're outsourcing their policy direction to Senator Canavan and One Nation not just to repeal Labor's progress on climate action but to undo the commitments made under prime ministers Morrison and Howard.

While the Albanese government's first piece of legislation was to cut student debt by 20 per cent, the coalition's first priority is to repeal Australia's net zero target, a move that would damage our economy, our environment and our international credibility. Don't just take my word for it. At the Queensland LNP convention this year, an overwhelming majority voted for the federal coalition to abandon net zero, describing it as a 'dangerous scam'. Not one elected MP or senator spoke in favour of keeping the net zero policy at the federal level—not one.

The coalition and the member for New England could not be more out of touch with the Australian people and with science. Net zero is not some woke slogan; it's not a culture-war battleground. It's about our suburbs and regions, it's about topping our roofs with solar panels, and it's about ordinary Australians making smart choices to cut costs, lower emissions and create a better future for their kids. And it's already happening in communities like mine.

In Bonner we've had one of the highest uptakes of batteries under the Cheaper Home Batteries Program in the entire state—645 and counting. Our community is leading the way because we know what's sensible. In August I had the pleasure of welcoming the Prime Minister and Minister Bowen to visit Therese and her family, who have lived in the suburb of Mansfield, in my electorate, for 33 years. They've had solar for years, but it wasn't until our government introduced the 30 per cent battery rebate that they installed a home battery. In Therese's words, it was 'affordable and sensible'. That's the kind of practical commonsense approach Australians are taking in the suburbs and regions right across our country.

Sadly we're not seeing the same sense from the member for New England with this reckless bill. Recently the member claimed that net zero and climate change policies were 'ludicrous crusades and immoral'. The member also said that we have 'spent years scaring children about the weather'. Does the member for New England want Therese and her family to pay more for power? Are the 645—and counting—families in my electorate of Bonner that are set to have lower bills being scammed?

This government is backing Australians like Therese and her family, with real policies, real investment and real action. Since coming to office we've cut emissions to 29 per cent below 2005 levels; added over 18 gigawatts of renewable energy, enough to power six million homes; delivered $12.7 billion in clean energy investment in the last year; and passed energy saving reforms that are cutting bills and creating jobs. This is what real action on climate looks like, nationally and in my backyard of Bonner.

The choice before us is clear: a cleaner, cheaper energy future or a political stunt that takes us backwards. But this bill isn't just a stunt; it's a test. We all know that the member for New England is planning to move on from his seat—he has made that clear—but what this bill will demonstrate is whether we'll see anything new or different from the coalition, or just the same old faces still denying the science, still denying the economics and still denying Australians a better future.

Only Labor believes in a future made in Australia. Only Labor believes in clean energy, smart investment and protecting what makes this country special. Only Labor believes climate action should benefit all Australians, in the bush, in the suburbs and by the bay. We know that Australians believe that too—just like Therese and her family in Mansfield and just like the thousands of households across Bonner that have embraced batteries, solar and sensible climate action. They know it's affordable, they know it's sensible and they know it's the future.

See this speech in context