Tuesday, 19 March 2024

Ministers statements: energy policy

Jacinta ALLAN (Bendigo East – Premier) (14:08): I am very pleased to update the house on the government’s commitment to cutting red tape and getting on with building the renewable energy projects our state needs. We have seen that since 2015 one in five renewable energy projects has ended up getting stuck in VCAT. That is one in five projects that ends up sitting on the shelf instead of being out there in the ground, having solar panels installed and wind towers built and generating important renewable energy. This red tape has real-world consequences. Today there is around $90 billion worth of investment value sitting in the pipeline, and in addition to being able to power our state these projects would support something like 15,000 jobs across Victoria. That is an enormous amount of potential energy that we are wasting.

We know that to meet those strong renewable energy targets that we have as a state we need to bring on new generation, and that is why last week with the Minister for Planning and the Minister for Energy and Resources we announced that we are taking a practical step to power up our clean energy processes. From 1 April all shovel-ready projects will be eligible for a new accelerated planning pathway. It will have a dedicated team supporting the application process, and importantly too it will unlock tens of thousands of jobs, helping Victorian families and businesses realise the benefits of cleaner, cheaper, secure renewable energy.

There are different views on how we power this state. There are some who want to cling on to power ‍– cling on to the little bit of power they have. There are others, like the member for Nepean, who want to generate power, who want to grab more power for themselves. We are going to push on and focus on what is important to Victorians, and that is getting more renewable energy in this state.