Ellie Whiteaker (WA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for the Environment and Water, Senator Watt. Yesterday the Minister for Climate Change and Energy announced further support for renewable energy projects, delivering on a commitment the Albanese Labor government made to the Australian people at the last election. In order to achieve our ambitious target for renewable energy generation, environmental approvals need to keep pace with this rollout. How are timely approvals from the minister's department supporting our nation's goal of achieving net zero by 2050?

Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Environment and Water) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thanks, Senator Whiteaker—another terrific advocate for Western Australia joining our ranks. Yesterday the Albanese government announced that we will substantially expand the Capacity Investment Scheme by 25 per cent, and that means we will underwrite the construction of 40 gigawatts of large-scale solar, wind and storage by the end of the decade. In capacity terms, this is nearly twice as much energy infrastructure as the country's existing coal-fired power fleet. This investment is just one of a number of actions the Albanese government is taking to accelerate the rollout of renewables.

Another is taking action to speed up the approvals process. Yesterday, as I mentioned, I announced the speedy approval of the 90-megawatt Summerville Solar Farm, in the Richmond Valley, in the electorate held by the Nationals deputy leader, Kevin Hogan. The news was reported by the ABC under the headline, 'A solar farm approved in weeks shows how renewables rollout could be sped up'. And it's worth noting that the picture used in the article shows what the National Party says is simply not possible; it shows what must be hundreds of sheep grazing under and between thousands of solar panels, proving once again that agriculture and renewables can coexist. I know that's a hard concept to get your head around—I know. You've just got to get out there and have a look that it's actually happening.

This example and other recent quick approvals of renewables projects show that, if you get the system right and everyone is working cooperatively, it is possible to get much faster approvals while also generating environmental gains through the development of cleaner energy. Unfortunately, while there are these sorts of good examples to point to, we need to see more of them. What we want to do is make sure that quicker approvals which meet strong national environmental standards actually become the norm rather than the exception. That is one of the reasons we do need to reform our environmental laws. I look forward to working constructively with all sides of this chamber over the coming months to ensure that these very important reforms can be implemented for the benefit of all Australians.

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Whiteaker, first supplementary?

Ellie Whiteaker (WA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Excellent answer—thank you, Minister. Earlier this year, the Albanese Labor government approved the Narrogin Wind Farm, in my home state of Western Australia. Why is the rollout of renewables a good thing for the West?

Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Environment and Water) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Whiteaker is right. The Narrogin Wind Farm, in Western Australia's Wheatbelt, was approved by the Albanese government on 1 May, and it's expected to generate enough power for 130,000 homes. It is sad, though, to see projects like this not being supported by everyone in Western Australia. As I mentioned yesterday, over the weekend we all saw Senator Cash up to no good, backing an anti-net-zero motion at the Western Australian Liberal conference. When her party leader, Sussan Ley, is desperately trying to hold her party room together, why would the Liberal Senate leader be so publicly opposed to her own leader? News Ltd columnist James Campbell had a bit to say about this. He said, 'To some of her colleagues, the way the WA senator is behaving is reminiscent of how Nick Minchin did everything he could to make Malcolm Turnbull's life hell when he was the Liberal leader in 2009.' So, rather than the coalition Senate leader bringing good policy up, she's working to bring the coalition leader down.

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Senator Whiteaker, second supplementary?

Ellie Whiteaker (WA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Albanese Labor government is unified in its approach to investing in renewables to achieve net zero by 2050, which will ultimately protect our precious environment. How important is policy certainty around our energy market, particularly for business investment around the country?

Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Environment and Water) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thanks, Senator Whiteaker. Our government's position on protecting the environment by investing in cheap and green renewable energy is clear. But what isn't clear is the coalition's position on this matter, because we've now got this incredible situation where the leader of the coalition in the House of Reps is supportive of net zero, but the leader of the coalition in the Senate is not. This week we've learned that even the coalition Senate team are deeply divided on net zero. We've seen Senator Cash and Senator Canavan on a unity ticket, fighting net zero. But, last night, Senator Sharma went where few moderates dare to go, 'Sky after dark', to say, 'We need to certainly listen to the voices in the party room, but we also need to remember that we've lost a lot of people from this room, and they're the seats we need to win.' Imagine that—a coalition member who thinks it's actually worth listening to the millions of Australians who support net zero! Senator Sharma, it must be a very lonely place over there in that party room at the moment, because, whether it's climate, education or housing, the divisions run deep in the Liberal Party, as Senator Cash tries to tear Sussan Ley down. (Time expired)