Hollie Hughes (NSW, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Climate Change and Energy) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Yesterday 50 regional communities from across Australia gathered on the lawns of parliament to peacefully protest the haphazard manner in which the Labor government are conducting their renewable energy policies. In Labor's haste to meet their 82 per cent renewable energy targets and their 43 per cent emissions reduction target by 2030, which is currently crawling along at a snail's pace, the government is excluding local communities from the decision-making process while the energy minister expedites the approvals process and ignores the communities impacted by this unprecedented energy project.

One of these ambitious projects—Australia's second offshore wind zone—will be constructed off the coast of some of my patron seats in the Hunter region of New South Wales, home to some of the most beautiful coastline in New South Wales. It's one of the largest projects in the Labor government's Powering Australia plan. The consultation process that followed the announcement of the Hunter offshore wind zone can only be described as a sham. It ran for just 65 days, and most locals weren't even aware it was going on until it had already been completed. Some community members, including senior citizens, were excluded from the process, as only digital submissions were accepted, and locals have claimed that the unions were involved in the engagement process to skew the submissions towards the positive. The concerns of those residents who did manage to participate in the consultation process have been ignored. Locals are concerned about the environmental impact of the project, the effects on wildlife, the visual impact on the area and the possible interference with whales' migratory paths. Local tourism and commercial and recreational fishing are the lifeblood of these areas, and none of the locals' concerns were allayed during Labor's shoddy consultation process.

What's amazing is that Labor tacitly admitted that their consultation process was flawed. When the energy minister last year announced the Community Engagement Review to improve community engagement, they were acknowledging their shortcomings. You'd think that the logical thing to do would be to reopen the consultation process, as the opposition leader pressed Minister Bowen to do. Instead, Minister Bowen proceeded to declare the Hunter offshore wind zone the following week. It was Bowen again talking from both sides of his mouth. Community involvement should never be an afterthought. It should be an integral part of the planning process from the very beginning. Engaging local residents early on can provide valuable insights, local knowledge and a sense of ownership over the projects. It ensures that people have time to consider, grapple with and overcome any concerns they may have. The attendees at the rally yesterday are not anti-environment or climate deniers; in fact, the residents who live in these pristine locations value the environment more than anyone. If one single Labor MP had bothered to go out and talk to these people who came all the way from Port Stephens and Newcastle, the Central Coast and the Illawarra, they would have found that out. Where were the members for Shortland, Newcastle and Paterson?

Now, we all recognise the need to move to a carbon neutral future, and renewable energy will of course play a role. However, it's our responsibility to ensure that the implementation of renewable energy is fair, transparent and considerate of the communities it affects. We must strive to strike a balance between the benefits of renewable energy, such as job creation and economic development, and the costs, such as job losses and land appropriation, and it's essential to recognise that renewable projects are disproportionately placed in rural and regional areas. While it would be nice to see the teals advocating for an offshore wind farm off Mackellar or Warringah, I can't see that happening any time soon. It's always a yes for renewable projects—just not in our backyard, please.

While renewable energy, like wind and solar, will play a role in our transition to a carbon neutral economy, we have to be realistic about the potential environmental consequences associated with these projects. We hear renewable and we think it must be good; it must be clean and green. You'd think that of all people the Greens would be right behind scrutinising these projects to ensure that they stack up environmentally. We know that there are challenges with renewable energy, whether it's the use of finite resources being extracted from Third World countries or the use of slave labour in solar panel creation, whether it's the risk of highly dangerous flammable chemical fires with electric vehicles or whether it's research into the impact of offshore wind turbines on marine life. Let's be honest. If we can't be honest about the challenges, then how can we develop a renewables plan and industry that has a genuinely beneficial application? Let's not stand with our fingers in our ears and our hands over our eyes, refusing to acknowledge the issues and throwing the baby out with the bathwater because we don't want to believe it or we don't want to upset our stakeholders, particularly our union mates. We must adopt a precautionary approach, acknowledging that the pursuit of renewable energy should not contribute to the degradation of biodiversity, the livelihoods of communities or the firming of our grid or create further pricing pain for consumers.

Our commitment to a sustainable future must extend beyond just reducing carbon emissions. The fact that this government chooses to hide its head in the sand on the antiquated moratorium that exists in this country on nuclear energy is downright confusing, given the claims this government makes about being the robust champion of renewable energy. We know that nuclear is one of the best forms of energy generation and is one of the energies that can best assist with our desire to decarbonise our economy.

There are a range of studies in the US and Canada that speak to the great economic and environmental value of nuclear energy—so much so that in Canada it's not even a political hot potato; it's got multipartisan support there. Even Prime Minister Trudeau has signalled support for it. Our global partners in Europe use nuclear to firm up their grids. What is so different or backward about Australia that we, one of the largest exporters of uranium, cannot build our own thriving industry? We must take hold of the reins of our own destiny when it comes to our energy and resources, instead of relying on foreign markets to prop up our economy.

Rigorous safety standards, advancements in nuclear technology, and responsible waste management have developed considerably in the decades since Chernobyl, but this energy minister has an antiquated and stubborn mindset. He is resolutely against anything that he isn't already doing. He refuses to listen to any challenge to the current policy settings, calling thousands of Australians in the regions, including the ones that came out to protest yesterday, victims of a coalition scare campaign. No, Minister Bowen, they are not mugs. They are real people that are being impacted by your policies, and it's downright offensive to pigeonhole these real people into a political box to serve your own dismissive purpose. They care about the environment, and they want their voices heard. Is that really too much to ask?

But Labor stubbornly refuses to change track, and it's not just wind farms. They've shut down the coalition's request for an inquiry looking into the impact of transmission lines across the region seven times. It's appalling and just continues to raise questions about the transparency and accountability of decision-making processes related to renewable energy infrastructure. It's crucial that we uphold the principles of transparency and ensure that inquiries and investigations proceed without undue influence or interference. Transparency is the bedrock of trust, and we must strive to maintain public confidence in the decisions that shape our future.

I would urge the government to reopen the community consultation process on the Hunter offshore wind zone and to re-evaluate their decision to block the inquiry into transmission lines. I urge them to consider the impact on public discourse, policy formulation and the overall trajectory of our transition to renewable energy. These processes take time. Communities must be consulted. Research must be conducted. Money must be set aside. Businesses and government must invest in infrastructure and technologies. For this to be done by government, above board and in an open and honest way, it will take careful, measured consideration. Labor has always loved to make bold and lofty claims about the aspirational future it desires for Australia, but it's only the coalition who's willing to be pragmatic and make the difficult decisions to ensure that our country does not sacrifice its prosperity on the altar of green ideology.