Andrew Bragg (NSW, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Housing and Homelessness) Share this | Hansard source

I welcome the opportunity to make a contribution on this important topic, because the issue of net zero and emissions reduction generally are important ones for the Australian community. And it was the former coalition government that signed Australia up a few years ago when we were in government.

But, since the Labor Party won office in 2022, they have pursued a very aggressive approach to delivering this policy, which has not been technology-agnostic. They have prioritised the vast take-up of renewables at any cost. Now, renewable energy is very good and very desirable, and, in many cases, it can be very inexpensive. But, when you are managing a transition from a largely coal-fired-power based energy system to a fundamentally different system, and bearing in mind the impact that energy has on the overall economy, you must be very careful and very prudent. So our principal argument here is that the transition has been unreasonable. It has not been managed well. And it has been the regional communities that have largely had to pay the price.

I grew up in a regional community myself and have travelled widely across my state. If you look at the failure of this government to properly consult on the question of offshore wind and then the transmission infrastructure, these are material and serious issues for regional communities. For the government to pursue this policy at any cost, trample over regional communities and not give them a proper say—and I don't think that Minister Bowen has done his best work here, to be charitable. I think that then imperils the whole question of community support for getting to net zero, which is a very important objective for our economy.

Overall, the capital markets have made up their mind: this transition is on. And so Australia needs to be part of that important movement of capital. But it's got to be done in a way where the government isn't playing Frankenstein, and my judgement is that the government has tried to do that. Ultimately, the distortion of the market, through subsidies in particular, has been a problem. Renewable energy is the most competitive in many comparisons. I would say to you that, for those that really value getting to net zero as part of our economic agenda, getting community consent and working with regional communities is actually one of the most important aspects of that agenda.

The world has moved on in terms of the capital markets, but, if you look around the G20, it's a very similar scenario. Every G20 country bar one is part of this accord. Sure, different countries have different ways of doing it. The way that Labor have done it through legislating their targets and the like is not essential. It is not an essential way of getting to net zero. And so I would say that, if you look at different countries in the G20—the major emitters—some countries will get there in 2047. Others propose that it will be in 2053. Others have 2060 or 2070. Of course, the United States has left, but the United States's economy is so different from Australia's. We are so much more trade exposed than the US, so I think the comparisons there which are often made are erroneous.

The point is: if you want to do net zero, do it properly. You should be technology agnostic and you should be very careful in getting the consent of regional communities, which are essential to Australia getting to this key environmental and economic goal. As I say, growing up in a regional community myself, I know some of the best conservationists are farmers and regional people. I would say that most people who live in the regions want to see a cleaner, greener environment going forward, but they also want to see their property rights respected and they want to have a say on major developments which are occurring in their own region. We're always happy to have this debate, but we make the point here that net zero is an important objective that must be done properly. There are many different ways to do it, and the way Labor has done it has been horrendous.