Steph Hodgins-May (Victoria, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

The Australian Energy Council's latest report says its members want a more honest and transparent narrative about the cost of the transition. Well, let's be honest and transparent. The Energy Council doesn't work for consumers; it works for the companies who profit when the transition slows down. And of course these companies are concerned about the speed of the transition, because every year we delay is another year that they can squeeze profits out of coal and gas. But slowing down the transition doesn't make power cheaper. It destroys our economy. It trashes our planet and locks households into expensive gas in a world that is rapidly moving on. Renewable energy is the future. Get with the program or get out of the way.

Let me bust some myths. Myth—renewables are expensive. Fact—every credible body, such as the CSIRO, AEMO and the Climate Council, says that wind and solar are now the cheapest form of new electricity generation in Australia by a mile. Wind and solar cost a fraction of new coal and gas. The Clean Energy Council's latest analysis shows that renewables are the cheapest path to lower bills, full stop. Myth—dependence on gas keeps energy prices stable. Fact—gas is a major driver of high bills. When global prices jump, Australian households feel it. Unlike gas, renewables don't link our domestic market to volatile international prices. Since Australia began exporting LNG, domestic gas prices have tripled, and power prices have doubled. Myth—the grid can't handle renewables. Fact—the grid can't handle ageing coal plants falling over. Renewables are predictable. The failures of ageing coal and gas are not. AEMO has been crystal clear that the fastest way to a reliable grid is more wind, more solar and more storage.

While we're busting some myths, let's talk about the coalition. Their abandonment of net zero is frankly embarrassing, and it is a betrayal of everyday Australians, who want cheaper bills and a clean energy future. They are trying to outdo Labor in defending fossil fuel corporations and locking us into decades of higher energy costs. Farmers don't want that. Households don't want that. Industry doesn't want that. Australians do not want that. You want transparency and truth. Well, here it is. Renewables are the cheapest, cleanest and most reliable path forward. The only thing standing in the way of that clean energy transition is a political class that is just too timid, too afraid to embrace that renewable energy transition, and an industry hoping like hell that we don't.