Appropriation Bill (No. 1) 2025-2026

Mr JOSH WILSON (Fremantle—Assistant Minister for Climate Change and Energy and Assistant Minister for Emergency Management) (16:41): It is good to have been part of this consideration-in-detail debate. From the most recent budget and the budgets that the Albanese government has previously delivered, I think Australians know that we are focusing on the sensible transition of Australia's energy system because we know it's in our best interests.

We know it's necessary because we know that the consequences of failing to do it or of seeing it done in a disorderly way are enormous costs, fewer jobs, lower GDP and, certainly, a worse environment. So we continue to focus on that, as we focus on climate action, which is related to the energy transition, because we need to reduce emissions in order to be part of global cooperative action to achieve net zero by 2050.

We're also doing that in relation to the environment, as I said before, both through delivering reform to our national environmental protection framework, which the independent review of Graeme Samuel told the former government that they ought to do but which they never managed to get around to, and through providing funding to protect Australia's threatened species and our vulnerable ecosystems.

I just want to pick up on some of the questions that have been put by members in the course of the debate. The member for Cook shouted at everyone and said a few baseless and silly things along the way. Emissions are coming down.

He knows that, in the year to March, there was a 1.4 per cent decrease in Australia's emissions. Preliminary data suggest that the emissions to 30 June are down 2.4 per cent over the previous financial year. That's what we would expect.

It is in keeping with our trajectory to 43 per cent emissions reduction on 2005 levels by 2030. I remind people at home that that was a 65 per cent improvement on the target that the coalition set in government, which bore no relation to the science and wasn't consistent with what we need to keep global warming at safe levels and to get to net zero by 2050. We are making progress, and we're doing it in a clear and transparent way.

The member for Cook suggested that the government wasn't upfront about the cost of the programs that are involved in the energy transition. We've been perfectly clear about that. There's $75 billion worth of cost in the programs.

I think the Australian community would reflect on the $75 billion that we've been very clear about in terms of detailing contributions to the CEFC and ARENA—great Labor legacies that helped the coalition to achieve some of the emissions reduction that occurred whilst they were doing nothing else—as well as the investments in the Capacity Investment Scheme, the National Electric Vehicle Strategy, the National Energy Performance Strategy and all of those things.

Compare that $75 billion to the $600 billion that would have been put on the tab by those opposite in pursuit of their strange nuclear fantasy. I did find it interesting that both the member for Cook and the member for Wannon keep repeating the term 'house of cards'. You could only think that this is a Freudian expression of the trauma that's going on over there on the other side at the moment.

They're a current soap opera—three different prime ministers in nine years. It's barely been five or six months since the election and the Leader of the Opposition's in trouble because people are either walking the plank or jumping overboard from the good ship Coalition. The House of Cards references tell a story.

There's definitely a similarity between that famous television series and what's going on on the other side of the chamber. It's not doing the Australian community any great help. I'll turn to the questions that have come from the member for Bennelong, the member for Kooyong and, to some degree, the member for Cook about transport.

Transport is an important area of progress. We have seen the number of EV sales triple as a proportion of new car sales. We have doubled the number of charging points around Australia.

We've just provided an additional $40 million to support our new 2035 target to add a further 10,000 charging points, which will include kerbside charging for the first time. We've also delivered $1.1 billion to support clean fuels because we know that Australia has enormous potential to lead that work globally. When you get the production of clean fuels—whether that's biofuels, green hydrogen or other alternatives—you get to move off existing liquid hydrocarbons.

Not only does that reduce emissions; it helps deal with one of our enduring problems, which is liquid fuel and security. That work is happening. Australians can see it.

Australians are backing it in. They're backing it in at the ballot box. They're backing it in on their roofs with solar panels.

They're backing it in with home batteries. We will continue to deliver for the Australian community. Proposed expenditure agreed to.