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

I'm really pleased to have an opportunity to speak to this MPI and about the really significant support the Albanese Labor government has given households to take control of their energy use and bills. This is something I have been wanting to see for a long time, and it did not happen until we came to government. One way of thinking about how Australians have embraced, for instance, our Cheaper Home Batteries Program is that it took us 10 years to put in the first six gigawatt hours of household storage—it took the country 10 years to do that—and it's taken eight months to put in the second six gigawatts of household storage. That is a remarkable turnaround for the country. It's being done on roofs in electorates like mine in Western Sydney, in peri-urban and regional areas, more than it is happening anywhere else in the country, and we're very proud of that.

This is partly about acting to tackle energy bills. Of course, there'll always be more to do on that it. But we have, over the course of our terms in office, tackled power bill relief, put caps on gas prices and invested in renewables, all of which the coalition opposed. If they had their way, we would be back shovelling coal into our own little coal stoves. The plan really does have those two parts—cheaper, cleaner energy and a better deal for households—so it's putting Australians back in charge of their energy bills with better access to solar, batteries and, of course, cars that will run, more cheaply, on electricity. At a time like this, when we can see the pressures that the more traditional energy sources have when there are critical things happening around the world, that's something I think more and more Australians will wake up to.

I want to quote the minister for climate change. He spoke to this MPI long before it was proposed earlier this week in talking about the sovereign capacity of Australia. He said that the transition of our energy system to more renewables, which is the cheapest form of energy, is not dependent on global supply chains; Vladimir Putin cannot interrupt the supply of sun to Australia, and the international circumstance in the Middle East cannot interrupt the flow of wind in Australia. So that is a reliable form of energy, and that speaks to another reason this is so important not just for individual households but for us as a nation.

Cheaper Home Batteries is one of my very favourite programs at the moment because it is so embraced by people in Macquarie and neighbouring areas. It helps households store the cheaper, cleaner energy they generate during the day from their rooftop solar and then use it when they need it most, including during the evening peak. So we've got less pressure on the grid at peak times, lower reliance on expensive generation and downward pressure on prices for everyone. Along with the community batteries that are up and running in Blaxland, Blaxland East and Hobartville, these home batteries help the grid manage demand more efficiently, improve system reliability and support the shift to more renewable energy.

Our local clean energy businesses are busier than ever, with more than 2,000 homes and small businesses in Macquarie benefiting from this Cheaper Home Batteries Program. Around the country, we've surpassed 250,000. I think we're up to 265,000-plus home batteries. I want to talk about Penrith Solar Centre as an example, now known as PSC energy. I visited their Penrith facility with the minister last year. Jake Warner, who's the director, a Penrith local who started out as an electrical apprentice, says the Cheaper Home Batteries subsidy has been incredible not just for mums and dads but for everyday Australians across Australia in getting access to more affordable energy. Not only is it more affordable; it's more secure and more stable. We're seeing the grid become increasingly stable since the deployment of these decentralised home batteries. We're seeing power bills slashed, in some cases to zero, he says. This is an incredible effort. For companies like his, it's created 50 new jobs. He and Damian McMahon from Blue Mountains Solar speak to what a difference this is making to their customers. I'm proud to be part of a government doing this good work.

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