Chris Bowen (McMahon, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Climate Change and Energy) Share this | Hansard source

Perhaps it will be helpful to the opposition if I explain what a transition is. It is a gradual move towards more renewable energy. It's happening in Australia, with October being the first month in Australian history that we got 50 per cent of our electricity from renewables. That's what a transition looks like. It takes time. As it happens, the same transition is happening around the world. Now for the first time globally we have more energy from electricity than coal. That's the first time that's happened. It just happened in the first six months of this year.

The member asked me about the Minister for Resources and I. The Minister for Resources and I agree entirely, and we are working closely together on this transition because we agree that, as that transition occurs, we need gas as a back-up for renewables because it is a flexible fuel. We agree that we need gas to help with heavy industry. We agree that we need gas for those five million homes that use it for home heating. The Minister for Resources and I more than agree; we are working closely together on the gas market review, which we will be saying more about imminently.

That's what policy work looks like on the side of the House that agrees on the fundamentals about climate change. Those opposite can't even agree on whether climate change is real, so I don't think we need any advice from anybody on that side of the House. We have been dealing with 10 years of denial and neglect. (Time expired)

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