PRIVATE MEMBERS' BUSINESS
Ms ROBERTS (Pearce) (13:06): The incorporated speech read as follows— I totally oppose this motion. While it claims to address high energy costs, it ignores their structural causes and would leave Australians exposed to breakdowns, price spikes and higher bills. Australia's coal-fired power stations are ageing and increasingly unreliable.
Of 28 coal plants, 24 brought their closure dates forward. Four gigawatts of dispatchable energy came off the grid, while only one gigawatt came on. The coalition promised wholesale electricity prices below $70 per megawatt hour.
Instead, it left office with prices above $280. In May 2022, the average price was $341.25. The then energy minister changed the law to keep electricity price hikes secret ahead of the 2022 election.
The coalition promised $1 billion to add 3,800 megawatts of electricity to the grid, yet three years later not one dollar nor one kilowatt had been delivered. The answer is rebuilding Australia's grid with low-cost renewable energy, backed by firming and upgraded networks. Since the Albanese government was elected in 2022, more than 22 gigawatts of wind and solar have been added to the grid.
Wind and solar capacity has increased by 60 per cent—more than five times the capacity of the Snowy hydro schemes. Independent market bodies support this direction. The Australian Energy Market Operator says renewable energy, firmed with storage, backed by gas and connected through upgraded networks, remains the least-cost road map for Australia.
The Australian Energy Regulator reports wholesale electricity spot prices have fallen since late 2022 because of lower fuel costs, increased renewable energy and government actions. CSIRO finds renewables supported by storage remain the lowest-cost generation investments for Australia's future electricity system. The Australian Energy Market Commission projects residential electricity per-unit prices will fall by around five per cent over the next five years, but it warns those prices risk rising 13 per cent from 2030 to 2035 unless renewable generation, batteries and transmission are delivered faster.
Clean Energy Council research found household power bills could rise by $449 per year by 2030, with greater reliance on gas and coal and slower renewable construction. If a major coal-fired power plant also failed unexpectedly, that increase could reach $606. Yet the opposition proposes keeping ageing, unreliable coal generators operating longer.
These plants can break down without warning, and those breakdowns cause price spikes. Their scheme would pour billions of taxpayer dollars into propping up ageing coal instead of building renewables backed by hydro, batteries and fast, flexible gas. During the coalition's decade in government, 24 of Australia's 28 coal-fired power stations announced they were closing.
Four gigawatts of dispatchable energy came off the grid and only one gigawatt came on. Australians cannot afford to keep paying for that failure to prepare. Treasury modelling also warns that not pursuing net zero by 2050 risks lower economic growth, reduced investment, missed export and employment opportunities, and higher energy prices.
It estimates a disorderly transition would cost the Australian economy $1.2 trillion between now and 2050. The Albanese Labor government's plan is renewables backed by gas, batteries and hydro. We have acted through power bill relief, gas price caps and investment in cheap renewables.
We are also supporting households to electrify and install batteries. We are also fixing the retail electricity market to give consumers a fairer deal. New rules will prevent retailers increasing prices more than once a year, protect customers when low-cost offers expire, ban excessive charges such as late-payment fees, guarantee a fee-free payment method and require stronger assistance for vulnerable customers experiencing hardship.
It is also about replacing ageing generation before it fails, rather than asking taxpayers and consumers to carry the cost of keeping unreliable coal plants operating beyond their planned lives. This motion misdiagnoses the causes of high electricity prices and offers policies that would make Australia's energy transition slower and more expensive. We should instead build the modern energy system Australians need: abundant renewable generation, firmed by batteries, hydro and flexible gas, connected by the transmission infrastructure required to deliver it.
That is the least-cost roadmap identified by Australia's energy market operator. It lowers emissions, supports jobs and provides a pathway to a more reliable electricity system. I strongly urge the House to reject this misguided motion.
Debate adjourned.