Chris Bowen
McMahon · Australian Labor Party · Australia
“This builds on very important investments in our community, including 3,000 presentations to the Fairfield Medicare Urgent Care Clinic, including, in a couple of instances, members of my own family; 25,000 presentations to the Wentworthville urgent care clinic, which is important for the Greystanes and Pemulwuy community; and 22,000 prese…”
“Well, it's 1 July, an important day in our ambitions to deliver real change for Australians—real change that the Australian people instructed us to commence in 2022 and instructed us to keep going with in 2025. It's an important day with that real change and with a very strong focus on cost-of-living relief.”
“I thank the honourable member for the question. I can confirm for the honourable member that there is nothing 'so called' about free power when it's a requirement of law for the energy companies to provide it as an option to people in the relevant jurisdictions, including the constituents of Fowler.”
“I thank the honourable member for the question and thank her for our recent visit to a wonderful part of the world. One of the things we did was talk about cheaper home batteries. Today is 1 July, which means the cheaper home batteries policy is officially one year old today.”
“For those people who take that offer up, Morgan Stanley have found, for example, that some families could save $660 a year, which we on this side of the house think is a good thing. Those on that side of the house are opposed to it.”
“When we came to office, home batteries were in one in 60 houses. Now it's one in 17. That's wonderful for those families that are reducing their bills, in many cases to nothing and in some cases getting a rebate instead of a bill, but it's very good for putting downward pressure on energy prices for everyone.”
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“On Sunday, the Attorney-General and I were in Rouse Hill visiting Kenny and his family. He told us he has reduced his energy bill, with his cheaper home battery, from $250 a month to $10. The reason the Attorney-General and I went to Rouse Hill is that that postcode, 2155, is the postcode with the highest take-up of cheaper home batteries in Australia. In Western Sydney, I know the Attorney-General is excited about that; I'm not sure about the member for Mitchell, who shares that postcode with the Attorney-General. But I know the Attorney-General is a very strong supporter of giving her constituents better choices to reduce their bills and emissions. I'm asked by the member what the importance of unity is in this approach. It is very important.”
“I thank my honourable friend for the question. She's a great representative for the Sunshine State in this House. The people of the Sunshine State understand the benefits of renewable energy, with their massive take-up of solar energy and their very strong take-up of cheaper home batteries. The people of Queensland are well represented in the 100,282 households that have put in a cheaper home battery since 1 July. More than 100,000 households and small businesses have taken up this option. What that means is that we have now installed two gigawatt-hours of storage, and we have increased the capacity of Australia's home batteries, just since 1 July, by a full 50 per cent. This is a big boost to the grid, and it's a big boost to the opportunities for those households to reduce their energy bills.”
“Because just today we've had two units out at the Callide Power Station, which the honourable member would know well. They're not operating. We have totally unplanned outages across our national energy system at 3.4 gigawatts of coal fired power—not planned; not maintenance. Coal-fired power stations that are working and then all of a sudden break down—that is the biggest threat to the reliability of our energy system. In turn, that is a threat to energy prices, because that sees prices spike, and that, in turn, is the biggest threat to industrial jobs in Australia. Those opposite don't understand the opportunities of our energy system and the need to modernise it now, not decades in the future when nuclear might become available.”
“I thank the honourable member for his question, and I'm glad he hasn't been sharing his views about man-made climate change with the House for a change. In answer to the honourable member's question, there are about 200 direct employees at the Gladstone Power Station—there are others employed on a contract basis and indirectly—and obviously that is a significant number to the people of Gladstone. But also this is a decision taken by the owners of the Gladstone Power Station, as they have announced, and that is in keeping with the normal protocols. I would make this point: those opposite are strongly supporting having coal-fired power stations open for longer and sweating the assets to see them last longer. That is the biggest threat to reliability in our energy system today. Do you know why?”
“And now we've got my old friend, who I miss dearly, the member for Fairfax, saying that he will cut, cut, cut the federal budget. He's saying that there will be sweeping cuts. Well, will the battery policy be cut under a Ley administration? That's what the Australian people deserve to know. The member for Fairfax—and I'm sorry he's left the chamber—says he's going to cut policies. He needs to explain what those cuts will be. And, most particularly, will he take away the rights of Australians to cut their energy bills by up to 90 per cent by installing a cheaper home battery under the Albanese Labor government's policy? That's the question he needs to answer.”
“Now, we know that, if you add solar panels and a battery at the same time, that can reduce your annual bill by more than $2,000 a year. Some people will never get a bill again, depending on the size of their solar panels and the energy use. This is real cost-of-living relief for Australians when they need it. And if that's what this policy can achieve in 100 days, imagine what it's going to achieve over this term of delivery for the Australian people. The honourable member asked me, 'Are there any risks?' And I think there are. The opposition wasn't too impressed with this policy during the election campaign. The then shadow treasurer criticised the policy—said only rich people would take it up. Au contraire, Mr Speaker, based on the figures around the country. The then leader of the opposition opposed it.”
“Not only is his mum in the gallery, but he leads the league table in Queensland! A big congratulations to the member for Wright and also the member for Bowman, and the member for Blair comes in third in Queensland. Last but very much not least, there's South Australia, which actually, per capita, leads the take-up of cheaper home batteries. We have Mayo coming in first, Sturt coming in second and Boothby coming in third, followed closely by Spence. Again, this is a suburban story. The honourable member asked me about cost-of-living relief. Interestingly, half the people installing a battery under the Albanese government's cheaper home batteries policy are also either installing solar panels at the same time—brand new solar panels—or adding to their solar panel array.”
“I thank the member for Gilmore for her question. She is a big supporter of the Albanese government's cheaper home batteries policy because her electorate have been big beneficiaries. The honourable member asked me about delivery of that election commitment, and I can tell the House that policy has been in operation today for 100 days. In that 100 days, it has delivered 81,413 batteries to Australians. I updated the House yesterday on the league table in Western Australia and New South Wales, and today I'll add Victoria. Congratulations to the member for Indi, who leads the league table in Victoria; the member for Hawke, who comes second in Victoria; and the member for Flinders, who comes third in Victoria. This is a regional and outer-suburban story. In Queensland, it's a very big day for the member for Wright.”
“With due respect to the honourable gentleman, I'm not sure he listened to the answer I just gave to the House where I outlined how many hectares of agricultural land are estimated to be taken. In relation to protected lands, we have a very strict environmental approval regime in place. If an application is in the wrong place, it won't be approved, whether it's for renewable energy or anything else. That's as it should be. That's the approach that the member for Sydney took. It's the approach that Minister Watt takes. We will only approve—the relevant minister will only approve—those projects, whether they be renewable or not, that are environmentally sustainable. What the honourable member for Wannon is doing is engaging in disinformation about the renewables rollout—”
“I thank the honourable gentleman for his question. There are a couple of estimates in relation to the question he asked. The ANU, for example, has estimated 120,000 hectares, or 1,200 square kilometres. In a New South Wales context, the New South Wales Agriculture Commissioner has estimated that it would need 55,000 hectares in New South Wales, or 0.1 per cent of rural land. In relation to that report, the New South Wales Agriculture Commissioner said: Our analysis of likely and worst-case land use changes, with the renewable rollout to 2051, does not indicate a material impact on agricultural production.”
“The member for Flynn was asked, 'Have you as a federal parliamentarian ever been given empirical or scientific evidence that proves climate change?' and he said, 'No, I can assure you it does not exist.' This is the alternative government of Australia in 2025. They don't believe in the science of climate change. If you don't believe in climate change, you can't seize the opportunity. He's one of the more moderate members among those opposite. But, if you do not understand the challenges of modern Australia, you are not fit to be the government of Australia.”
“Of course, farmers come up in this conversation a lot—as they should. On this side of the House, we believe that farmers, who know their land so well and are so expert in creating wealth out of that land, should be given the opportunity to seize these opportunities. Every farmer who has a wind farm or solar farm is paid for having it. No wind farm or solar farm is installed in Australia without the consent and full agreement of the landholder. We know that, between now and 2030, about $1 billion in payments will be made to farmers for hosting that infrastructure. Between now and 2050, it will be up to $8 billion in payments. If you don't believe in climate change, you cannot seize the opportunity.”
“I won't go through every state, but in New South Wales we have a new leader. The member for Richmond now has more, cheaper home batteries than anybody else, but she's closely followed by the members for Page and Riverina, with the member for Gilmore coming in fourth. So right across regional New South Wales people are embracing the opportunities of net zero. In Western Australia, I also have an update. There's one particular Western Australian member everyone is talking about. He's got a great CV and an even better future. He's widely regarded as one of the parliament's better-looking members. I refer, of course, to the member for Tangney, who has the highest take-up in Western Australia of any member of parliament when it comes to cheaper home batteries. This is households, businesses and farmers taking up the opportunities.”
“I thank my honourable friend for the question. He asked about the opportunities of acting on climate change. Those opportunities are there for the country and they're there for Australia's households and businesses and farmers. Australians are taking up those opportunities every day. Households are taking up that opportunity every day, and there is a bit of a milestone to share with the House. I can tell the House that, as of today, 80,005 Australians households have installed a cheaper home battery under the Albanese government's cheaper home battery policy. It's been a while since we sat, so I will give the House a bit of an update. It remains a regional and suburban story. Australians in regional Australia and the suburbs are taking up the Albanese government's cheaper home batteries policy.”
“What his video didn't tell us is that that was the site for the NuScale small modular reactor, which was cancelled last year because it was so expensive and because no-one would buy the power from it because the power was so expensive. That was the small modular reactor that the member for Fairfax had as the image on his website, Time to Talk Nuclear. There is no nuclear renaissance; there is just a renaissance of silly ideas from the opposition.”
“It might come as a surprise that it didn't go well, considering the quality of the campaign. The member for Fairfax travelled the world talking about nuclear energy. He put videos out about that. My personal favourite was 'What can we learn from Hiroshima?' when it came to him selling nuclear energy. The current shadow minister continues in the same vein. He's spent the last couple of weeks in the United States—good on him, fair enough. He put up an eight-minute video on YouTube about his trip. I watched it so that you don't have to. You're welcome! Having watched that video, we can tell some things. He did not visit any small modular reactors, advanced modular reactors or micro reactors, perhaps due to the small technical detail that none exist—there were none to see—but he did go to the Idaho National Laboratory.”
“Of course, this is all encouraging and building momentum for the emissions reductions target of 62 to 70 per cent which this government laid out during the parliamentary break. This is the government getting on with it and the Australian people getting on with it, because that's what the Australian people told us to do on 3 May. The Australian people told us on 3 May to keep going with plans for cheaper renewable energy. Some would think that maybe they also sent a message to those opposite, but those opposite seemed to get the message to keep going as well. I'm asked what policies are under investigation. The opposition went to the last election with a nuclear policy, which the Australian people did cast judgement on. That might come as a surprise to the member for New England!”
“I thank my honourable friend for the question. Indeed, it's been a while since parliament has sat, and there's been a lot of action by the government and by Australian households when it comes to climate change and energy—in particular in relation to households. It's been a while since I've been able to update the House, and I'm pleased to tell the House that now 78,124 Australian households have put in a cheaper home battery under the Albanese government's policy. This is part of a trend. I'm also pleased to inform the House of recent figures which show that last month was the first month in Australian history when more energy in the main grid came from renewables than coal. We see that as a good step forward; those opposite are probably upset about it.”
“The member for Fowler is very good at giving advice to other people about what they should do about the cost of living. She does that very regularly in the pages of newspapers and here—saying that other people should do more. The fact of the matter is, we all have responsibility when it comes to the cost of living, including councils. Some of us served on local government and, when we came here, decided to be full-time federal members of parliament. Other people have made other choices. The member for Fowler not so long ago wrote to the New South Wales government—”
“Fowler, of course, has also been a beneficiary of this government's policies: 65,000 taxpayers have received an average tax cut of $2,160; 58,750 households have received energy bill relief; 23,000 people have had student debt relief through our HECS reductions; and there have been $5,525,000 in savings across PBS net threshold reductions, thanks to the Minister for Health and Ageing's policies. These are real policies that support the people of Fowler, because this government knows that cost-of-living relief targeted at people who have been doing it tough in Fowler is necessary. The member for Fowler raises Reni's Bar and Grill in the City of Fairfield, a business I know very well. I know the owner very well. I know that the owner sits on Fairfield Council with the member for Fowler. Reni's a good fella, and I'm sure he is concerned.”
“I very much appreciate the question from the member for Fowler, and I appreciate the Prime Minister allowing me to answer it, because the member for Fowler has previously said that the Cheaper Home Batteries Program is of little use in her electorate. In fact, the take-up in Fowler is more than double that of the electorate of Sydney when it comes to cheap home batteries, because people in the outer suburbs understand that cheaper home batteries are one way they can reduce their bills permanently.”
“The Australian people know when a government's getting on with a job, and they know when an opposition is engaged in hypocrisy. If coalition hypocrisy created energy, we would have gigawatts to spare.”
“Or perhaps I should have started with the putative leader of the National Party, the member for New England—my personal favourite—who couldn't resist claiming credit for renewable energy. He said in 2020: We've made massive investments in the New England into renewable energy, in fact we're one of the biggest renewable energy hubs in Australia. … … … I made sure it happened. Then, of course, we can't forget the current Leader of the Opposition, who said: 'My strong belief is that rural and regional Australia has lots to benefit from in the move to net zero, and I certainly hear that from my farmers and from my rural communities. So I'm excited for my rural communities and for the country as a whole for that future. I think that net zero by 2050 aim is perfect.' So says the Leader of the Opposition.”
“One of the obstacles are people who used to support the transition who now engage in division and political pointscoring, who engage in hypocrisy. We heard earlier from the Prime Minister about the member for Mallee, who's been protesting against projects and transmission lines that she once lauded and celebrated when she was in office. But, to be fair for the member for Mallee, she is in reasonable company. We could start at the top, with the leader of the National Party, who's also been railing against renewables. You couldn't miss the leader of the National Party, who said of Maranoa: We actually want to become the renewable energy electorate. Western Downs shire is screaming at me to become the renewable energy shire of the country with solar and wind.”
“I thank my honourable friend for the question. I'm happy to report to him and to the House that, as of today, 47,342 Australian households have installed a battery. I'm happy to tell the member for Spence that his outer suburban electorate in Adelaide has the fifth-highest take-up in all of Australia. Congratulations to the people of Spence. Indeed, it is a suburban and regional story. Take New South Wales, for example. The top electorates for take-up of cheaper home batteries are Gilmore, and Page, and Richmond, and Riverina, and Macquarie. The top five electorates in New South Wales are all rural or regional. Indeed, rural and regional people know that they stand to benefit from this transition, as households and as communities. The honourable member asks me what the obstacles are.”
“In contrast, His Honour said, in relation to this government's 2022 target, that it 'could fairly be said to be a target that was capable of realistically contributing towards limiting the increase in the global average temperature to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels'. That's what His Honour said about our 2022 target. When we set the 2035 target, it will be in accord with the Climate Change Act after I've received the Climate Change Authority's advice. It will set out, very comprehensively, this government's intentions when it comes to 2035, and that's as it should be.”
“The legislation makes this process clear and makes clear what we must consider in setting the target, and that is exactly what we will do. We will have regard to the science, as we're required to under the law and, frankly, as we are morally required to. The parliament and the government absolutely are. That is why we passed the Climate Change Act in the way we did. I note that the Federal Court has recently ruled on matters of target setting in the Pabai case. In the Pabai case, in the Federal Court, His Honour was particularly critical of the previous government's targets and said they 'paid scant if any regard to the best available science'. He considered the 2021 update to be 'political window dressing to distract attention from the retained 2030 target'. That's what he said about the previous government's approach.”
“I thank the honourable member for the question, but I'll be answering in prose. I'm sorry to disappoint. I'll be answering in terms of the Climate Change Act, which this government passed with the support of the crossbench and is the world's best practice when setting a target. The Climate Change Act requires the government to receive the advice of the Climate Change Authority before setting a target. It's a matter of law. The law also requires the Climate Change Authority to have regard to the best available scientific knowledge and the global temperature goals under article 2 of the Paris Agreement, which are two degrees and 1.5 degrees. Under the act, I must take that advice into account in setting the targets, and I am also able to take into account other factors such as the economic and social impact of the target we set.”
“I want to thank my friend Musab Hassan, the chairperson of the Sudanese Zaghawa Community Association in Australia, for talking to me about this, and I extend my best wishes and condolences to his entire community.”
“On 24 January an attack occurred at the Saudi Teaching Maternal Hospital in Al Fasher. I'll say it again: an attack on a maternal hospital. The attack was carried out by the Rapid Support Forces and claimed the lives of at least 70 patients and wounded dozens. This was the only functional hospital in El Fasher, and it was attacked. And, once again, the Zamzam camp came under attack, and this time 2,000 people lost their lives in this one attack. As I said, this is one of the world's worst humanitarian crises and I haven't seen it reported anywhere, really, in Australia. I'm not being critical of journalists—it's a very busy international environment—but it's right that it be noted, at least, in this parliament.”
“Fatima Zakria from Blacktown, in my electorate, recently lost her sister and all eight of her sister's children in an artillery strike—eight of her nieces and nephews, dead. This is not an isolated incident. Over 15,000 civilians are estimated to have been killed in Darfur alone since the conflict began. Many members of my community have lost family. Many think they've lost family but are unable to make any contact. On 1 or 2 December last year, the Zamzam camp came under heavy shelling. Located near Al Fasher, the camp hosts 500,000 people. And it came under shelling. According to humanitarian agencies access to food, clean water and medical treatment in Zamzam is now almost non-existent. Tragically, five people were killed and 18 were wounded. The list of incidents and tragedies goes on.”
“In a world replete with humanitarian crises from Gaza to Ukraine it's sometimes very difficult for other crises to get attention in the world or, indeed, here. Today I want to highlight just one: Sudan. Sudan is currently facing the world's largest hunger crisis and the world's largest displacement crisis. The scale of suffering is unimaginable. Over half the population live in acute hunger, struggling each day for enough food to survive. Eleven million people have fled their homes—that's somewhere between half and a third of our population—often with nothing but the clothes on their backs in search of safety and stability. You might ask what this has got to do with Australia. Well, every humanitarian crisis impacts on every human in the world.”
“I don't accept that there's a premise to our review, other than the fundamental principle that we do have a plentiful supply of gas in Australia and we need to ensure that supply is available for Australian uses. We will continue to make the point that gas is necessary to underpin our transition to renewables. It's a very flexible type of fuel. Gas-fired power stations can be turned on and off at very short notice, unlike coal and nuclear. Heavy industry relies on gas, and five million Australian homes rely on gas. For that purpose, we are undertaking the review. We have three policy mechanisms that are reaching the end of their scheduled lives. It's appropriate that there be a full, comprehensive and methodical review, and that's exactly what the Minister for Resources and I are doing.”
“I thank the honourable member for the question. The Minister for Resources and I are conducting a review into our gas policy settings, as is very necessary, because we believe that Australian industry—including Australian heavy industry—those Australian homes that use gas for heating, and the gas-fired power peaking stations that we have in the grid do require access to Australian gas at reasonable prices. That's why we're undertaking that review in a careful, methodical way. We aren't doing as those opposite did and making a policy which the industry, in hours, clearly said wouldn't work. We're undertaking a very heavy consultation process. We've already received many submissions, which we're working through.”
“The honourable member asked me about risks, and, again, we see more of the perfectly normal policy development on the other side. We've heard about the member for Hume. We've also heard from Senator Hume today, who took to social media to declare that she's not for turning when it comes to net zero. She's fully in favour of it and had to go to Instagram to point out that she's a member of the Liberal Party, not the Advance Australia party. At least she can make that claim; I'm not sure that all those opposite could make that claim. Senator Hume has been supported by the member for Flinders and Senator Bragg and others—and good on them for standing up for net zero; they're in a small minority. But, on this side of the House, we're going to keep going with the job of delivering for Australians with batteries, big and small.”
“In fact, in September 2021, he not only said his budget supported Marinus Link; he boasted it supported Tasmania's Marinus Link, VNI West and Project EnergyConnect—all projects they now oppose and promote rallies against. That's what they do now. That's a significant risk to the transition. If you can't actually believe in something, you can't actually follow it through. The member for Hume's defence is, 'Yes, I supported transmission lines; I just never built one,' which is a fair defence. They never actually got around to building one; they just talked about how good they were; they just kept announcing it. It's this government that is, today, announcing the next big step on the Marinus Link, and we'll continue to make progress.”
“The Marinus Link has been talked about for decades, and this government is delivering the Marinus Link. I want to thank Ministers D'Ambrosio and Duigan, the two state ministers who worked with me to make this a reality. This link will unlock billions of dollars of investment in Tasmania and will create enough renewable energy to power 750,000 homes right across Australia, creating jobs for Tasmanians in particular. That's a good thing. The honourable member asked me about risks, and one of the risks is people who used to support transmission and support things like the Marinus Link who now say they oppose it. For example, I imagine the member for Hume welcomes the Marinus Link announcement because he once spruiked it. He once talked about the Marinus Link.”
“I thank everyone's favourite member for Braddon for this question, and I thank her for her leadership in Tasmania. Yesterday the Prime Minister and I told the House that 44,000 Australians had installed a home battery under the Cheaper Home Batteries Program. Today I can tell the House that 46,052— An honourable member: A big lift! A big jump! Today 46,052 families have introduced cheaper home batteries to their households. And, just as the nation is getting on with the job of batteries, we are getting on with the job of the battery of the nation. The battery of the nation is the state of Tasmania. I'm pleased to announce and tell the House that today the Albanese government, the Allen government and the Rockliff government have reached financial close on the Marinus Link.”
“We on this side of the House thinks that's a good thing—not everyone agrees. In relation to the particular incident, I am concerned to read about that. I have asked my department to ensure that the expert review of methane emission management which I commissioned—the government commissioned—led by the former chief scientist Dr Cathy Foley, examines the matters raised and ensures that they are considered in their deliberations. I will update the honourable member and the House when I've received the report from the former chief scientist.”
“I thank the honourable member for her question and I share her concerns, but I can't share the premise of her question in relation to the safeguard reforms. The safeguard reforms have successfully delivered onsite emissions reductions equivalent to two-thirds of Australian domestic aviation in their first year of operation. That is no small thing. These were difficult reforms that were supported through the parliament, but they are working to reduce emissions in our 215 biggest emitters. With respect, that should not be discounted by the honourable member or anyone else. That sort of emissions reduction, achieved by this government, is reflected in the last quarter's figures, which show industrial emissions and stationary emissions coming down. That is a good thing.”
“The government has introduced 24 bills since the election to do things like lock in penalty rates in law, to reduce HECS debts by 20 per cent, and for cheaper medicines. Those are our priorities. Those opposite had the priorities of fighting themselves about who hates net zero the most. Whether Senator Canavan or the member for New England or the member for Canning or others get the limelight—they're all in an arms race to show that they are more right wing, that they are more out of touch with modern Australia than the others. They want to show they are more willing to ignore the opportunities for rural and regional Australia, for Australia to create jobs and investment, and for our country to seize the economic opportunity that is action on climate change, rather than ignore those opportunities like those opposite did for a decade.”
“My shadow minister the member for Wannon was on ABC radio this morning and was asked to give an update on the net zero review. He said: 'Look, we've always said it will take nine to 12 months. We want to do it methodically. We want to make sure we get it right. There's no more important area for us to make sure we get it right.' It warms your heart to see such process, such diligence, such calm, methodical management! He said the review would take 12 months. He said it would take a year. It didn't take an hour, because 60 minutes later Senator Canavan took to social media to announce he would be introducing a bill to repeal net zero in the Senate. Now we have two bills—not one but two—from the opposition to repeal net zero.”
“Umina is a wonderful surf live saving club, and it is great to see them reducing their emissions and bills. It's not just community groups—as I said, it's also small businesses and farmers. That's why rural uptake has been so good. The Cheaper Home Battery Program got a very good response this morning when I spoke at the Farming Forever National Summit, organised by Farmers for Climate Action. There were 300 rural people and farmers there advocating. The Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry was there last night, the assistant minister has been there, and they were very pleased to hear that update this morning as well. The member asked me about people who aren't embracing the opportunities, and, of course, they sit opposite. We've seen another example this morning of the process that the opposition is undertaking.”
“I thank my honourable friend for the question. As the Prime Minister said, since yesterday's update another 1,000 Australians have embraced the opportunity to reduce their bills and emissions by installing a battery under the Albanese government's Cheaper Home Batteries Program, so we're now at 44,895. It's not just households. We call it the Cheaper Home Batteries Program, but it also applies to small businesses, farms and community groups. The member for Robertson knows that, because he and I visited the Umina Surf Life Saving Club, which has a wonderful solar array and an excellent battery, which has been installed with the help of the great company RESINC, who have used the policy to donate more batteries to surf life saving clubs to reduce their bills, emissions and running costs, which is an excellent thing.”
“I'm reminded that this is not the first rodeo for the member for New England. I'm reminded of this headline, 'Nationals win extra cabinet position for Keith Pitt as they sign up to net zero deal'. It went on to read: Resources Minister Keith Pitt has been elevated to cabinet under a deal between Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Nationals Leader Barnaby Joyce that sees the Nationals sign up to the 2050 net zero target. What principles! What great commitment for what they stand for! The member for New England—”
“We saw the member for New England say that the member for Canning should vote against it. This is part of the orderly and calm and considered policy process from those opposite. It reminds us that it's all about the Nationals' interest and internal politics when it comes to those opposite. I'm reminded that the member for New England was recently asked why he's proposing to abolish net zero. He went on—for the tough interview, of course— T he Bolt Report . He said: 'No. 1, it's about our nation; No. 1 it's about our nation, but, for me personally, it's incredibly personal. I have to deal with it at the epicentre of New England.' He went on to say: 'I've got no interest in the sort of, oh, yeah, it might be this and it might be that. It's nothing. It's about net zero.' Well, that was very clear.”
“I have good news for the member for Tangney, because his electorate now has the biggest take-up in Western Australia. That means bad news for the member for Canning, who's been knocked off the top spot. He's now in second place for take-up in Western Australia. The good people of Canning are still taking up cheaper home batteries and moving towards net zero at a rapid rate, but just second in Western Australia now, not first. The honourable member asked me what policies could distract from this agenda and what proposals could distract from this agenda. Of course, there are many, and they all come from those opposite. We've seen today what I thought would be the rather unprecedented scene of a mover of a private member's bill requesting a member of his party to vote against it.”
“(): I thank my honourable friend for the question. The Albanese government's cheaper home batteries policy is two months old today. It came into force on 1 July. I'm happy to tell the honourable member and the House that, in the first two months—as of today—43,695 Australian households have installed a cheaper home battery. They know and we know that that saves them, if they didn't have solar panels already, more than $2,000 a year, and, if they did have solar panels, more than $1,000 a year. Also, they have installed more than 785 megawatt hours of capacity. We are installing the same capacity as a Hornsdale big battery every week, and that puts downward pressure on prices for every single Australian. I have good and bad news for the Western Australian members.”
“We're dealing with the fact that, under those opposite, four gigawatts of dispatchable power left the grid and only one gigawatt came on.”
“It's also the case that there are other reports out over the last week that the opposition has chosen not to mention, like the Australian Energy Regulator's State of the energy market report, which refers to energy prices and points out: … Australia's coal plants are aging and increasingly costly to operate. Many require high levels of maintenance and refurbishment to keep them running. They are also prone to unplanned outages, sometimes prolonged outages, which make them increasingly unreliable. The report said: Heading into spring and early summer, prices remained higher than the previous year amid a higher rate of brown coal outages. So these are the sorts of issues that the government and the energy grid are dealing with.”