Electricity Infrastructure Legislation Amendment Bill 2025
Senator WATERS (Queensland—Leader of the Australian Greens in the Senate) (10:56): I'm very pleased to rise to speak to the Electricity Infrastructure Legislation Amendment Bill 2025 today. The Greens will always fight for clean energy. We will always fight for the thousands and thousands of jobs that that will provide in the regions, including in my home state of Queensland.
We will always fight to stop a future Dutton led government from undermining the clean energy sector, because they don't accept the climate science and are instead propping up coal and gas with the fig leaf of nuclear. I'm absolutely thrilled that we were able to secure the chamber's support to make sure that we passed this bill today. I'm very pleased that some of the crossbench voted with us to make sure that, if we're not finished debating this bill by one o'clock, we can actually vote on it.
What we're voting on here is about making sure that the government can continue to back in renewable energy. Thanks to the amendment that the Greens were able to make in the other place, that's precisely what this bill can now do. Originally it had a slightly different—but also good—purpose.
In order to protect the renewables sector from a future Dutton government, we've managed to put into law the Capacity Investment Scheme, which is the government's underwriting of clean energy projects. To put that in English: this bill, thanks to the Greens amendment in the House, will now protect 32 gigawatts of clean energy in law, and it would take both chambers to undo that.
Even if we get a Dutton led minority government in the other place, I don't think they're going to be able to get the numbers in the Senate. I'm really pleased that today we'll be able to lock into law support for clean energy. We've seen many communities and individuals across the country take the opportunity of clean, renewable energy to power their homes, farms, community services and businesses.
With proper support for communities we can build prosperity and a safe climate by decarbonising our energy systems. That's what this bill seeks to do: provide certainty for communities and the industry in a renewables rollout. As I mentioned, we've improved it further by Dutton-proofing the Capacity Investment Scheme.
The Capacity Investment Scheme is the government's key policy to reduce emissions and to achieve the 82 per cent renewables target by 2030. Right now, prior to this bill passing, it's very vulnerable to sabotage by the Dutton coalition because it was only created by regulation. The Leader of the Opposition could dismantle it on day 1 of getting into the Lodge—if he gets there, if the various folk in the other place decide to support a Dutton minority.
If it were repealed, renewables investment would come to a grinding halt. The Greens amendment, which passed the House, which is now incorporated in the bill that's before the Senate, would enshrine the government's Capacity Investment Scheme into law. That means that our amendment has Dutton-proofed the Capacity Investment Scheme.
It cannot be unilaterally repealed if there were to be a coalition government or minority government. By enshrining it into law it will oblige the next two governments to meet the 32-gigawatt renewables and storage target by 2030. That's made up of 23 gigawatts of renewable generation and nine gigawatts of dispatchable energy.
That will ensure that critical investment in the renewables rollout can continue smoothly. As many folk know, that's important for creating market confidence, and it's essential for the rapid decarbonisation that's needed to address the climate crisis. So the Greens are using their balance-of-power position in parliament to push for better climate outcomes by Dutton-proofing it from the climate destruction of the LNP.
The Liberals and the coal and gas industry are doing everything they can to slow down action on the climate crisis. They're spruiking nuclear, which, as we all know, would simply prolong coal and gas, and they're pouring time and money into undermining the transition to renewables. We've seen ridiculous billboards by the likes of Advance Australia.
We've seen anti-offshore wind community campaigns. We've seen the National Party whip up fear in the community about renewable energy. I don't see them standing with the same farmers when it comes to coal or coal seam gas wrecking farmland, but, hey, they clearly pick their battles.
What we've also seen in the news this week is that Australia has already shot past 1½ degrees of warming and that the world is on track for a catastrophic 3.1 degrees of warming. We have got to be doing absolutely everything we can to decarbonise as rapidly as possible. We've got to transition to 100 per cent renewables as soon as we can.
We cannot afford to have existing policies slide backwards, which is exactly why we moved to Dutton-proof this key emissions reduction policy. The PRESIDENT: Senator Waters, you need to refer to members of the other place by their correct titles. Senator WATERS: My apologies—Mr Dutton.
We've moved to Mr Dutton-proof this key emissions reduction policy and to lock in renewables investment. That is obviously crucial, but we cannot keep pouring fuel on the fire. Renewables investment has to be accompanied by no new coal, oil or gas.
Unfortunately, under the Albanese government, we know that emissions have actually gone up, which is frankly gobsmacking. Perhaps part of the reason for that is that 32 coal and gas projects, either new or expanded, have been approved by the Albanese Labor government. Without a commitment to stop subsidising coal and gas to the tune of $11 billion of taxpayer money and without that commitment to stop opening new coal and gas fields that are simply turbocharging the climate crisis, you're cutting off your nose to spite your face.
We are risking the future of our climate, our environment and our economy and we will continue to be out the back of the pack internationally. Australia's future is in clean energy, not fossil fuels, and this bill is an important step to lock in renewable investment and to provide more certainty for communities and industry, but we've got to get on with the rest of the job.
We are strongly in support of the 82 per cent renewables by 2030 target. We'd like it to be higher, and we can do that in a way that actually shores up the economic future of regional communities. We know that renewables are not only the cheapest form of energy, which is great news for households, but they are job rich, and they are safe jobs.
They're not coalmining jobs, where you come down with black lung disease or get sacked by your mega coal company because you've been replaced by a robot. We can have a job-rich, clean energy transition that's smooth, and that's why we're backing this bill today. Government underwriting for the renewables sector is crucial, and it will help even out the peaks and troughs.
This is us adapting and trying to make that transition to a clean energy economy. I'm so pleased that we were able to get the support of those in the chamber and in the other place to do that today to make sure that those good targets—they're not as strong as they should be, but they're good—are now in law and can't be just undone by the stroke of a pen should Mr Dutton assume control of the country.
But you can't just do good renewables stuff; you've got to stop approving coal and gas. It's one step forward and two steps back. This is why we will continue to insist that there be no new coal and gas approved.
That will always be what the Greens work for, and that will always be on the table for any kind of minority government negotiations should the country lead us to that outcome. We're here for climate action. We're here for providing those jobs in regional communities.
They know that the writing is on the wall for the coal industry. They know that their jobs are on the line and that they'll be sacked the minute it's cheaper for a robot to do their jobs than it is for a person. They deserve to have a bright economic future.
They deserve to have a say in determining what is the next underpinning for the prosperity for their town. That's exactly why we will always stand with those coal and gas workers and we will always make sure that they've got options for well-paying jobs locally in their community. We are sick of the coal and gas companies running our country.
We are sick of them running this parliament. We have tried to ban donations from coal and gas companies. Unfortunately, nobody else seems to agree that that is a good idea.
They're perfectly happy for the oligarchs in the coal and gas companies to be in control of decision-making. Maybe that's why in every budget, no matter who's in government, you get $11 billion of taxpayer money given to the big coal oil and gas companies. Cheap diesel and accelerated depreciation are perks that no other industry gets.
But, when it comes to the coal and gas industry, they say: 'Eleven billion dollars? Yes, sir. You'd like us to jump?
How high, sir?' That is, sadly, what both of the big parties say when it comes to the coal, oil and gas industries. We will always say you could use that $11 billion you are giving to coal and gas to let people go to the doctor for free, to make sure they can go to the dentist and use their Medicare card and not their credit card or to make sure that public schools are fully funded and teachers are getting properly paid.
There are so many better ways to spend money than propping up the coal and gas industry, and we need to do that. We need to make sure we're not opening new coal and gas in a climate crisis when we're already at 1½ degrees. We know the impact that that will have globally on coral reefs, and that includes the Great Barrier Reef in my home state of Queensland.
We're going to lose 90 per cent of coral cover at 1½ degrees of warming, and, if that keeps ticking up and we get to even two degrees of warming, we know that 100 per cent of coral cover will be lost. That's 60,000 jobs that we're talking about losing, not to mention losing one of the seven natural wonders of the world. The future of our communities and the future of our environment is at stake, and that is why we're so proud that we have 'Dutton-proofed' this renewable energy investment scheme.
But Labor have to stop approving new coalmines and gas projects. They have to stop giving $11 billion of taxpayer money to coal, oil and gas when they should be investing that in communities for the services that all of us rely on, like schools and hospitals. Maybe they could even subsidise solar and batteries for small businesses and for homes to really further kick along that renewables transition.