Amanda Stoker (Queensland, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Yesterday, energy minister Angus Taylor announced that he has asked the Clean Energy Regulator, with the support of the Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources, to lead an independent investigation into rooftop solar. This follows a range of really concerning reports about consumer issues arising from that sector—defective installations, misuse of accreditations, safety and quality concerns, and ongoing issues that simply must be addressed. A recent report by the Clean Energy Regulator found that 2.2 per cent of rooftop solar systems were unsafe, while 20 per cent were substandard.

This is another really important piece of work from our energy minister. It reminds me of the excellent technology road map that he published a few months ago, a groundbreaking piece of work that's all about taking the ideology out of how we go about generating energy in this country and focusing on what works on balance and on delivering the kind of reliability that our market depends upon. The road map looked objectively at the base-load generation method used right across the world that has almost no emissions, and that's nuclear energy. This level of objective, science based policy consideration speaks to the political courage that we can see from the energy minister and the Morrison government more generally.

Those opposite tend to scoff and interject at the mere mention of coal or nuclear energy. They ignore the science of energy generation and are driven instead by their religious-like devotion to renewables themselves. But there are a few facts they can't get away from. The first is that the best-performing sector in Queensland during the COVID pandemic has been the coal industry. The second is that, without government subsidies, Queensland's coalmines have seen an increase in jobs of 15 per cent over the May quarter—one of the only sectors in the country that has had great expansion while other parts of the country have struggled. Indeed, I was listening to 4BC this morning and I heard a call-in from a bloke named Russell from Dysart. He called in to Neil Breen's show and said that, while his community had been utterly abandoned by Queensland Labor with heavy-handed Brisbane-centric restrictions when it came to COVID, local businesses had a lifeline, and that lifeline that was keeping their head above water was coal. So it's very easy for people in this chamber or people who live in the comfort of our cities to be condescending to people who depend on the coal industry, but every single one of them should think of Russell before they get sanctimonious in here because a lot of Australia is like Dysart, and these are communities that we can't walk away from. But more and more, those opposite are tempted by the chasing of Green preferences in the cities and have walked away from the industrial base that once so loyally supported them.

There are a couple of glimmers of light for Labor. Not everybody has completely abandoned Australia's miners, farmers and manufacturers yet. Joel Fitzgibbon, for instance, knows how important base load energy is. That's why he has, effectively, threatened to split Labor in two. Most sensible people understand how sensible and agnostic energy policy is. The best and most reliable form of energy must not be sacrificed for the sake of fairytale dreams of cupcakes and rainbows. Coal still matters. It's still an important part of Australia's energy mix. This doesn't have to be a tribal matter. Australia doesn't have to be split in two on the basis that you're either for coal or you're for the environment, or you're either for jobs or you're for renewables. It is possible to walk and chew gum. It is possible to have balance in our system. And it is vital that we never forget those regional communities that depend on us here to stand up for them as we make policy.