Wednesday, 30 July 2025

State Electricity Commission

Darren CHEESEMAN (South Barwon) (14:26): My question is to the Premier. Why is the re-establishment of the State Electricity Commission great for regional jobs, and will it lower the costs of energy bills for everyday Victorians?

Members interjecting.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! I could not hear the end of that question, member for South Barwon. The member for South Barwon without assistance.

Darren CHEESEMAN: My question is to the Premier. Why is the re-establishment of the State Electricity Commission great for regional jobs, and will it lower the costs of energy bills for everyday Victorians?

Jacinta ALLAN (Bendigo East – Premier) (14:28): I can say very clearly that the SEC is back, and the only reason why we can talk about the SEC being back –

James Newbury interjected.

Jacinta ALLAN: We all know what the member for Brighton has been up to.

Emma Kealy: On a point of order, Deputy Speaker, the independent member for South Barwon in his Dorothy Dixer appears to have asked two questions, which I believe is against the standing orders.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: I have only got one that I can see here. The Premier was answering it.

Jacinta ALLAN: I appreciate the assistance of the Minister for the SEC. I have got a bit of information in front of me to now share with the member for South Barwon on how the SEC is back and it is driving our investment in renewable energy that is about securing our state’s future. But you cannot talk about our state’s future without giving the Deputy Premier and me a moment to reflect on how we got here, because we are the children of fathers who lost their jobs because the SEC was privatised by the former Liberal–National government.

Wayne Farnham: On a point of order, Deputy Speaker, on relevance, it is not an opportunity to mislead Victorians. Joan Kirner privatised the SEC; we all know it.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: I am fairly sure the member for Narracan knows that is not a point of order. I ask him to behave on the standing orders that he knows so well.

Jacinta ALLAN: The member for Narracan represents part of that great Gippsland community that was devastated by the impacts of privatisation. I admire the member for Narracan in other forms. We all admire his apparent life-saving efforts over the last few weeks, but the member for Narracan and his colleagues are just flat out wrong.

Paul Edbrooke interjected.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Frankston – 30 minutes.

Member for Frankston withdrew from chamber.

Jacinta ALLAN: The Kennett Liberal–National government privatised the SEC, and the Labor government is bringing it back. Not only are we bringing it back, but it is well and truly back. There have been the investments in the Melbourne renewable energy hub, a fantastic project, but also I know the member for Lowan is pretty fond of the Horsham renewable energy park, because she turned up the day the minister and I were there. To be fair to the member for Lowan, she did turn up, but she was not really a fan of what we are announcing, because what we were announcing was investment in renewable energy – investment in jobs in Horsham – and that is what goes to the heart of the SEC. It is driving our renewable energy future and it is driving jobs. For those of us who are so proud to represent regional and rural Victoria, the SEC is driving our renewable energy future and it is driving our economic future because it means jobs, and behind each one of those jobs is a worker and a family who is relying on that work.

Darren CHEESEMAN (South Barwon) (14:32): My question of course is to the Premier. Will you rule out selling the SEC?

Members interjecting.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! Warrandyte – 30 minutes.

Member for Warrandyte withdrew from chamber.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: If I cannot hear a member on their feet, I am sure others cannot hear down this end.

Richard Riordan interjected.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Polwarth, see ya – 30 minutes.

Member for Polwarth withdrew from chamber.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Member for South Barwon, please repeat your question, in silence. We will be struggling for a quorum soon.

Darren CHEESEMAN: My question of course is to the Premier. Will you rule out selling the SEC?

Tim Richardson interjected.

Jacinta ALLAN (Bendigo East – Premier) (14:33): You are stealing my lines, member for Mordialloc, in anticipation. Who said this: ‘The SEC is gone if we win’? Who said this? The Leader of the Opposition. Therefore, in answering the member for South Barwon’s question, the contrast could not be clearer – those who want to go back to the future, jump in the DeLorean, go back to the 1990s and sell off Victoria’s renewable energy future. Only Labor is committed to the SEC. Only Labor is driving the investment in the SEC and only Labor is driving the investment in those jobs for those workers and those families who need a government that is on their side, that is backing them in every day, not going to cut the knees from under them and their family’s future, like the Leader of the Opposition would.