MATTERS OF PUBLIC IMPORTANCE
Mr REBELLO (McPherson) (16:04): I rise in support of this MPI, as it's an issue that hits home for families and businesses right across our nation. When Anthony Albanese and Chris Bowen promised every Australian household a $275 cut to their annual electricity bill by 2025, Australians took them at their word. They believed, as any fair minded person would, that relief was coming.
Instead, power prices have surged by almost 40 per cent. No family budgeting for groceries, rent or a mortgage can absorb that kind of a blow. Energy is a driving force in Australia's cost-of-living crisis, and this government is pushing families, industries and working Australians to breaking point.
In my home state of Queensland, regional Australians are paying around $2,810 a year, while households in the south-east face bills of $2,766. These aren't luxury expenses. They're basic costs of keeping the lights on, running the fridge, doing a load of washing or, as we head into summer, deciding whether to stay cool or save on the air conditioning.
Labor members standing in this chamber and congratulating themselves on their failed energy policy show just how profoundly out of touch they are with the lived reality of everyday Australians, particularly those running businesses. We've seen the chaos unfolding for Tomago, which is predicting its energy prices will be unsustainable by 2028. BHP CEO Mike Henry has spoken about energy prices here in Australia being two to three times that of comparable nations.
What does that mean? It means that businesses and jobs will go elsewhere. Investment will flow out.
The government know their plan isn't working, yet they press on, blind to the pain being felt in households across this nation. That's not governance; it's negligence dressed up as ideology. We all share the goal of reducing emissions; that's not in dispute.
But, when something isn't working, you cannot charge ahead, to the detriment of Australian families, industries and jobs. Labor's reckless approach has delivered no meaningful reduction in costs or emissions, with national emissions today sitting at the same level as when the coalition last left office, and we're yet to see this government's plan to provide a real solution to the transmission, distribution and storage questions that need answering.
On storage, I note that battery storage—the supposed fix—can only supply a few hours of charge. You cannot run a modern industrial economy on Labor's plan. The government's own department has told them gas is critical to reliability because it can be dispatched when renewables underperform.
But Labor's policies have made that harder, not easier. The ACCC has repeatedly warned of supply constraints and regulatory delays that drive up prices. Gas exploration acreage released in 2022 wasn't awarded until 2024—an extraordinary two-year delay—and, when it comes to coal, uncertainty reigns.
Investors don't know when they can invest and operators don't know when they must close. That's why state governments are now stepping in to clean up Canberra's mess. Queensland will use its coal assets until their end of life to stabilise prices.
In New South Wales, the Eraring Power Station, our largest power station, supplying 18 per cent of the state's electricity, was meant to close this year. Instead, the state government has had to strike a $450 million loss-sharing deal to keep it open until at least 2027—so much for the energy transition being under control. These aren't abstract numbers; they're jobs.
Glencore's Mount Isa copper smelter needed a massive subsidy just to survive, and Rio Tinto's Gladstone Power Station, which powers the Boyne Island aluminium smelter, could close by 2029. When manufacturing collapses, it's not just GDP that suffers; it's pride, purpose and the livelihoods of whole communities. Subsidised renewables get priority dispatch, forcing traditional plants to operate below capacity, eroding both profitability and grid stability.
This is what happens when ideology trumps engineering.