Sam Lim (Tangney, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Climate Change and Energy. How is acting on climate change in the national interest as well as the interest of Australian households? What policy proposal would take Australia backwards, especially Western Australia?

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

I thank my honourable friend for the question, and I am glad that he has asked me about policies that are in the best interests of households and the country and his great state of Western Australia. I can again confirm that, over the last 24 hours, another 1,000 Australian households have taken up the Albanese Labor governments Cheaper Home Batteries Program, bringing the total to 18,336. But I'm sorry to tell the member for Tangney that his electorate in Western Australia has the second-highest take-up in Western Australia of the Cheaper Home Batteries Program, which isn't bad, but it's not as good as that of the member for Canning, whose electorate has the highest take-up of the batteries program in all of Western Australia.

The good households of Canning are embracing net zero, cheaper home batteries and renewable energy at a rapid pace, and that comes as little surprise, because the people of Canning know that, if you take up a battery, together with solar, under the Albanese government's Cheaper Home Batteries Program, you can save $2,300 each and every year—a permanent bill reduction which is eerily similar to the benefits for all Australians of net zero. We know that economic modelling shows that net zero will make every single Australian household $2,000 better off.

The member for New England is whispering an interjection to me which I'm not sure is entirely parliamentary, but he might want to be more complimentary to the Morrison-Joyce government, because the modelling I just quoted was from the Morrison-Joyce government's The plan to deliver net zero: the Australian way

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order, the minister won't use props.

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

which shows Australians will be $2,000 better off with net zero. It showed that Western Australia was estimated to see 34,000 new jobs in mining and heavy industry by 2025 under a net zero plan. So net zero is good for Australia and good for Western Australia.

Now, the honourable member for Tangney asked me what policies might take Western Australia backwards. Any attempt to unwind net zero would take Western Australia backwards. I'm unfortunately obliged to tell the House that we've seen some attempts to do that. The Western Australia Liberal Party state council voted against net zero. The Leader of the Opposition in Western Australia came out and disassociated himself from that, which earned him an attack from the member for Canning.

The member for Canning will undermine any leader of the opposition that he can find. He's taking a practice run in Perth for what he intends to do in Canberra sometime in the next 12 months, as we all know. He loves undermining leaders of the opposition with his agenda. His agenda is anti net zero, but his constituents have a different view. His constituents are taking up net zero and they're taking up cheaper renewable energy. I know the member for Canning doesn't like that, but then again the member for Canning doesn't like the current leadership arrangements of the opposition either. But we'll continue to deliver for the Australian people.