Federation Chamber - PRIVATE MEMBERS' BUSINESS - Energy
Transcript
Date: 19 June 2023
Ms WARE (Hughes) (13:07): I stand today to speak in support of this motion brought by the member for Fairfax. I thank him for bringing this motion that brings to this House's attention the failure of the Albanese Labor government, and especially Minister Bowen, to ensure that a plan is in place as we transition Australia through new technologies to a net zero emission economy and world. On this side, we are committed to net zero but to achieving it through principles of liberalism—using the market economy and encouraging and incentivising entrepreneurial innovations to enable us to successfully transition to new energy sources. This means, however, that we must put consumers at the centre. We must put Australian families, Australian individuals and Australian small businesses at the centre as we transition. Pragmatism must replace ideology. Policy should be informed by economics and engineering. Renewables and nuclear can play complementary roles in a hybrid system. These are the two main options for low-carbon energy.
I was formally an environmental lawyer. I have always been committed to Australia moving towards net zero. To that end, I have manufacturers within my electorate that manufacture solar panels, and I recently went out to the Western Sydney Green Hydrogen Hub at Horsley Park to see what they're doing out there in the way of new hydrogen.
We have two options for low-carbon energy. At the moment, the government has not put forward any plan to address and look at something—nuclear energy—that could potentially help us to address the current and future energy crisis.
Both nuclear and renewables generate energy that produce no green house gas emissions, reduce air pollution, diversify the energy supply and reduce dependence on imported and fossil fuels. Due to Australia's natural abundance of sunshine and wind, there's widespread political, institutional and corporate support to underwrite technologies, projects and investments in the renewable sector. This is appropriate, and it is something that I've always supported—that we transition and use renewables but in a far greater capacity than we have done in the past.
Nuclear technologies could potentially help us to address this energy crisis as well. However, due to the intractability of Labor and others in this place to even consider the potential that nuclear technologies could deliver to address our current and future energy needs, we are seeing a situation where the government has us trying to get off the boat before we are at the wharf.
I know that there is still concern throughout some parts of Australia about nuclear, particularly when there have been some disasters in other parts of the world. However, as I said in my first speech in this place, my 15-year-old self, who wore 'No nuclear' T-shirts and had photos and posters of Peter Garrett and Midnight Oil throughout my bedroom, would acknowledge now that the nuclear of the 21st century is very different to the nuclear of the past.
We owe it to the Australians that elected us into this place to address some of the biggest challenges that arise for us today, and that has to be to ensure that Australians—Australian families, Australian businesses—have access to affordable and reliable electricity. To do anything less than that is a travesty.
Ensuring our energy supply is also a very important part of our national defence and the entire security of our citizens. Therefore, I support this motion brought by the member for Fairfax. I thank him for his advocacy on various other ways and other technologies where we can look at addressing how we retain affordable and reliable energy for Australians as we transition to a net zero world using new technologies.