Eddie Graham Dinner, Wagga Wagga

**Check against delivery** Thank you for that introduction, and thank you all for being here tonight. I acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the land on which we meet, the Wiradjuri people, and pay my respects to Elders past and present. I also acknowledge any Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people here with us this evening.

It's a great honour to be asked to be the guest speaker at the Eddie Graham dinner for the second time. Last time must have been OK, because you've asked me back! In our Party, the honouring of our pioneers is an important part of who we are.

Graham Freudenberg described the Labor Party as a "collective memory in action", and I think he put it well. An important part of that collective memory is remembering those who did the hard yards in the name of reforming Labor Governments. It's important that you keep the tradition of honouring Eddie Graham.

He showed, with his victory in the state seat of Wagga in 1941, and his continued electoral victories until his death, what Labor success in rural Australia looks like. He was of course part of the McKell sweep of rural and regional electorates in the 1941 landslide which saw the election of one of our states great reforming Labor Governments. The voices of Eddie and his rural colleagues in the McKell Cabinet and Caucus were important and also a reminder that being a reforming government with a big agenda is made easier not harder by having a range of voices to hear and contribute to important debates within government.

Tonight is also a chance for me to honour you, the Labor women and men of Wagga and the Riverina. You do the hard yards, handing out how to votes and representing our cause, receiving plenty of free feedback as you go I am sure, not in the hope of victory in Riverina, but sure in the rightness of our cause. While, even in good electoral years like this one, victory in Riverina is against the odds, it does not mean your work is not important.

On the contrary, its vital. We came very, very close to having three senators elected from NSW in 2025. Votes in seats like this one make the difference.

If we govern well, as I believe we will, we are a chance of three senators from NSW at the next election. I know you'll keep the faith, and I ask you maintain the enthusiasm as well! I know your duty Senator, Deb O'Neill who works so hard in rural NSW and joins us tonight agrees with me!

As the National Party unity collapses, with its former Leader being lured by the siren song of populist protest and its members leaving on mass for One Nation, you remain united and strong! Regional Australians know practical climate action is common sense I've taken the last two days to tour the electorates of Riverina and Farrer, talking to communities about the opportunities and challenges of renewable energy.

This is where ideas become real projects, where policy becomes practice, and where the future of Australia’s economy is being shaped. And I think the Riverina is one of the best examples of community, industry and government working together to make that happen. Over the past two days I’ve had the privilege of seeing that firsthand.

I’ve met with local families, spoken to community leaders, talked with farmers and small business owners, and seen examples of community-led renewable energy projects that show exactly how the energy transition should work. It's a myth, perpetuated by the National Party, that people in rural Australia don't support climate action. On the contrary, people in rural Australia know the land better than anyone.

They see the land changing as a result of global warming. They see farm productivity falling as a result of climate change. No Australian is immune from the increasing frequency and severity of natural disasters.

But Australians in rural areas are the most exposed. That was clear in the National Climate Risk Assessment I released a couple of months ago. Rural people are famous for their common sense.

And acting on climate change to avoid the worst impacts is about as common sense as you can get. Farmers for Climate Action has 8000 members across Australia. We know how many members Farmers for Climate Action has.

We don't know how many members the National Party has, because they don't release their figures. But I suspect it’s around the same number – or less. That's a reminder of how out of touch the National Party is with the people they are meant to represent.

People in rural Australia are also showing their support for climate action by getting on with, for example through the strong take up of our Cheaper Home Battery Scheme. 1779 households in the Riverina electorate have installed a Cheaper Home Battery since July 1. That's six times the take up of the wealthiest electorate in Australia, Wentworth and puts the electorate of Riverina in the top 10% cheaper home battery take up in Australia.

This gives the lie to the fact climate action is somehow an obsession of inner city wealthy elites and not something people in regional Australia want to be involved in. I say to you, carefully and deliberately, a political party which blocks and opposes action on climate change is betraying the very people they are meant to represent. That's true whether it's the National Party or One Nation.

But the opposite is true of us. Now, of course, none of this is to say that we shouldn't care about and do more on better community consultation and community benefit from large scale renewable projects. But because regions deserve respect.

You know your land. You know your communities. You know what good development looks like, and what bad development looks like.

And you have every right to expect that when energy projects come to your area, they meet the highest standards of transparency, accountability, and community benefit. Social licence is about ensuring that the transition is built in partnership with regional Australians, not imposed on them. And that principle guides everything we are doing.

The truth is this: the energy transition is happening. That’s clear in regions like the Riverina. That’s why this Government is determined to lift the bar, for developers, for investors, for engagement, so communities see real, lasting benefits.

Not just when the turbines and panels go in, but for decades to come. The Avonlie Solar Farm that I was pleased to visit yesterday shows exactly what best-practice engagement looks like. During construction, Avonlie created more than 230 full-time jobs, including employing around 30 local Wiradjuri men and women through a dedicated First Nations engagement program.

The project also injected funding into the region directly, establishing a $250,000 Community Fund at the start of construction and, in its first full year of operation, spending more than $1.5 million in the local economy through local contractors, services and suppliers. By maintaining agricultural productivity through sheep grazing on site, and by reinvesting in local communities, Avonlie demonstrates that when developers listen, respect local knowledge and commit to genuine partnership, regional communities don’t just host projects, they help shape them.

That's good. But I'd like to see even more. Increasingly, large scale renewable projects are offering discounts on energy bills for people in their community, which I think is in many ways the ultimate type of community benefit and I certainly encourage renewable developers to keep developing those sorts of offers for communities.

Developer Rating Scheme A key step in leading our country in that direction is the Government’s Developer Rating Scheme, now in its pilot phase. Farmers and regional communities deserve straight answers and high standards. It’s a simple concept with powerful consequences: developers will be rated based on how they engage with communities.

Good operators who listen, respond, and act transparently, will be recognised. Those who cut corners or treat locals as an afterthought, it will be exposed. And I’m pleased to say that we’re making good progress.

So far, 60 renewable energy developers and transmission companies have expressed interest in testing the Scheme as part of the pilot. This equates to approximately 20% of the industry and includes businesses of different sizes, in different locations and technology types. That’s good progress – but my hope and expectation is that we will be much closer to 100% participation in due course.

Developers who do the right thing have nothing to lose and everything to gain from being a part of this pilot, and we’ll keep working with industry and communities to get the most out of this crucial stage. That is real money flowing into local small businesses, tradies and contractors, and to landholders. The Riverina is already seeing these benefits — and is well-placed to see many more.

This is not just an idea. It’s happening now, right across regional Australia. And its benefits will flow through to right across the country.

Because we know, that as ageing coal plants retire, they must be replaced. And we know that the cheapest replacement is firmed renewable energy. Reliability and affordability In the last three years, not a single week has passed without an unplanned outage of a coal fired power station.

And when coal breaks down, your bills go up. And coal is breaking down a lot. The average age of the coal fleet in the National Electricity Market is 38 years.

And the historical retirement age of the coal fleet within the NEM is 44 years. That’s why this Government will keep working to make it easier for households to save on their energy bills and take advantage of clean, reliable renewable power. Because it’s clear that in many ways households are leading the charge.

More than one third of Australian homes have solar panels on their roofs- that's more than have pools in their backyard. Some of those installed panels because they want to address climate change, but most of them did it because what's good for the planet is also good for their pocket. And we are now seeing Cheaper Home Batteries bring down the cost of batteries.

Their availability is smoothing evening demand, reducing our reliance on expensive gas. And in doing so helping bring down bills for everyone. In September and October, for the first time, Australian saw renewables overtake coal as our largest source of energy in our national energy market.

Australia's energy market is undergoing the biggest transformation since the industrial revolution. Through Solar Sharer we're working to make sure more Australians benefit from the transition- whether they have solar panels or not. We announced this new retail offer last month, making it available to all households in default market offer regulated states like NSW - from July next year.

Whether it's harnessing free solar or encouraging more people to be part of the energy market with their battery - bills stay lower for everyone, and our grid becomes a lot fairer. All while doing our bit for the planet. That’s what we’ve done in just one term – but there’s much more to do.

While we’re getting on with delivering, the alternative Government carries on with misleading. The Coalition chooses fibs over facts The Coalition is running a scare campaign that talks down renewable energy and talks down regional Australia. They claim to be the champions of the bush, but they tell regional communities they have nothing to benefit from the industries of the future.

I’ve got more faith in regional Australians than that. The overwhelming majority of regional Australians I meet aren’t buying the politics of fear and division being pushed by the Coalition. A prime example of this is the baseless, disturbing lie about koalas and wind farms.

For months now, we’ve seen the Nationals, who claim to represent regional communities, repeatedly spread the false claim that renewable energy developers are – and I quote - "clubbing koalas to death." Let me be clear: This isn’t a misunderstanding. It’s deliberate disinformation designed to stir up fear. The claims started around the Clarke Creek Wind Farm, when Coalition members pushed the false narrative that wind farm projects were involved in euthanising koalas.

But fact checks from RMIT showed that: The management plan for Clarke Creek was approved under the former Coalition government; No koalas were harmed at Clarke Creek, and; And similar clauses appear in other infrastructure projects, including the gas industry. Yet, just this year, the Nationals leader, David Littleproud, repeated this debunked lie at the launch of his election campaign, claiming wind farm workers were “clubbing koalas” to death.

This kind of rhetoric isn’t just factually incorrect - it’s dangerous. It fuels division, spreads unnecessary fear, and undermines the real, positive benefits renewable energy is bringing to regional communities. This isn’t just an attack on renewable energy.

It’s an attack on regional communities, who are perfectly capable of making their own informed decisions about the projects they want to host. Friends, thank you again for the warm welcome here in Wagga Wagga. Thank you for your commitment to the Labor movement, for your support, and for the work you do every day in your communities.

There is so much to be optimistic about. The Riverina and regional Australia aren’t just participants in the energy transition - you’re the engine room that’s driving it. The renewable energy projects in your backyards will not only create jobs and opportunities for your communities, they’ll also make the grid more efficient, reliable, and affordable for all Australians.

The future of Australia’s energy is here in the Riverina. And together, we will ensure that this transition is one that works for everyone. Our Government will continue to listen, engage, and ensure that the benefits of the transition are shared fairly with the communities who make it possible.

Because when the regions succeed, Australia succeeds. Thank you, and I look forward to speaking with many of you over the course of the evening. We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of country throughout Australia and recognise their continuing connection to land, waters and culture.

We pay our respects to their Elders past, present and emerging.