PRIVATE MEMBERS' BUSINESS

Ms COMER (Petrie) (11:11): I represent Petrie in South-East Queensland. I do not pretend that my community has exactly the same experiences as a farmer hosting transmission infrastructure or a small regional town dealing with sudden construction workforce. Those impacts are real, and regional communities deserve to be listened to.

But Australia's energy system does not stop at electorate boundaries. The electricity generated in regional Australia powers homes, hospitals and businesses right across the country. Its reliability and affordability matter just as much to the families in Redcliffe, Fitzgibbon, North Lakes and Deception Bay as they do to communities like New England or Central-West Orana.

And we have to deal with the energy system we actually have. Mr Joyce: The clock was not started for the Member for Petrie. The DEPUTY SPEAKER ( Mr Buchholz ): I thank the honourable member.

In continuation, I give the call to the member for Petrie. You've got an extra couple of minutes, now. Ms COMER: Fabulous.

Thank you, Deputy Speaker, and thank you, Member for New England. Australia's coal-fired power stations are aging, breaking down, becoming more unreliable and retiring. For a decade, the former government, which the member for New England was a part of, delayed the investment needed to replace them.

Twenty-four out of 28 coal-fired power stations brought forward their closure dates while the coalition was in office. And, just to remind you, the member for New England was a member of that coalition. The question is not whether our electricity system changes; it is how we manage that change in the cheapest, most reliable and most responsible way.

AEMO's 2026 Integrated System Plan is clear: renewable energy connected by upgraded networks, firmed by storage and backed up by gas is the cheapest pathway as coal retires. CSIRO's latest GenCost report also finds solar and onshore wind form the basis of the lowest-cost generation mix for Australia. That matters, because this motion claims renewable energy is driving power prices up.

The evidence does not support this claim. The Australian Energy Regulator's Default Market Offer 2026-27 is delivering lower prices in South-East Queensland. Standard residential prices are down 7.2 per cent, and time-of-use prices are down 10.7 per cent.

Small business's reductions are larger again. The Australian Energy Market Commission has also warned that delays to renewable energy generation and transmission risk putting upward pressure on electricity costs. Pausing this transition is not a plan for cheaper power; it risks making the problem worse.

Supporting renewable energy does not mean giving developers a blank cheque or telling regional communities to simply put up with whatever change comes their way. If projects put pressure on housing, roads, health services or emergency services, that needs to be planned for. Landholders deserve fair treatment, good information and genuine consultation, and developers should be held to proper standards.

That is why this government has strengthened the Australian Energy Infrastructure Commissioner, supported by the Developer Rating Scheme, and established national guidelines for community engagement and benefit sharing around transmission projects. The answer to legitimate concerns is better consultation, stronger standards and fairer benefits; it is not stopping the infrastructure the country needs or debating the economic benefits of renewables, all while ageing coal generators continue to retire.

The member for New England also gives the impression that renewable energy and agriculture cannot coexist, but the department estimates that less than 0.1 per cent of agricultural land in the National Electricity Market jurisdictions would directly host renewable energy infrastructure under the relevant AEMO scenario. We also know that many landholders can continue agricultural production while receiving additional income from renewable projects.

And I, for one, want to see additional income go to our farmers; they're the backbone of our country. There's another part of this debate worth remembering. The member for New England has not always spoken about renewable energy the way he does in this motion.

In 2017, he said renewable energy was 'an important part of the national energy mix', and then he celebrated that New England 'is leading the way in renewable energy production'. He was right then, and we are right now. Regional Australia can be an energy powerhouse.

It can attract investment, create jobs, provide new income streams for landholders and help power the nation. But those communities must be partners in the transition, not an afterthought. We can support regional communities and build renewable energy.

We can protect agricultural land and modernise the grid. We can demand proper consultation and still get on with replacing ageing coal. What we cannot do— The DEPUTY SPEAKER: I thank the honourable member for her contribution.

I give the call to the most honourable member for Farrer.