David Gillespie (Lyne, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The referendum last weekend shows how the Albanese government isn't listening to average Australians. The Prime Minister wouldn't change. He and Minister Bowen aren't listening, too, regarding the electricity system. Rewiring and repowering the nation with 92 per cent renewables is unrealistic and will cost over $1.3 trillion by 2030—not what AEMO estimates, which is far, far less.

Also, regarding the industrial wind and solar complexes, more than 2,000 people turned up at the Port Stephens rally against the Myall Coast and Port Stephens wind farm that'll cover 1,875 square kilometres from Catherine Hill Bay up to about Seal Rocks, with wind towers up to 260 metres tall—and 312 of them will cover the area, with exclusion zones of 300 metres around it. It will put at risk, and probably destroy, the commercial fishing fleet and their fishing grounds, worth $1 billion. Whale watching and the whales themselves will suffer, with the acoustic testing to cite it. These commercial wind farms are destroying agriculture and amenities, and their economics rely only on large-scale renewable energy certificates. New base-load power needs to be planned now. We need to maintain our current base load or blackouts will occur.