Thursday, 24 September 2026

 Lily D’AMBROSIO (Mill Park) (16:15): It has been an honour to have served local communities as the member for Mill Park since 2002. Major investments have been made in my community: upgrades to Plenty Road, Childs Road and Epping Road; the rail extension to South Morang; new buses, schools and sporting clubs; the multiple upgrades to the Northern Hospital, including a new emergency department shortly to be built; and women’s health and mental health services. They have all been made by Labor governments because what matters to local community and working people sits at the core of the Labor Party. Meeting with and listening to people about what matters to them and ultimately fighting for them has been a tremendous privilege.

I sometimes think back and see that a girl from Fawkner born in the 1960s – now I am going to cry, and I should not – whose Italian migrant parents worked hard but faced life-changing health battles and resulting financial challenges, actually became a member of Parliament. It does get funnier. Trust me. When I was growing up, my family needed Labor governments to help us when we needed it, to protect our wages and keep us safe at work. We also needed a strong public health system when things were very dire and good government schools, both mainstream and special. They were not always there, because you see it really does matter who is in government, and Labor was rarely in government back then.

Now the funny bit. My first career choice as a very little girl was to be a cash register operator, because you see grocery shopping on a Friday night at the Tuckerbag in Bonwick Street was exciting – seeing the women’s fingers working the cash register buttons, bells pinging, cash in the till and the paper bags filled with food for the week. Habitually it was also where my dad would buy his weekly stick of Viscount cigarettes. A ‘stick' used to have 20 packets of cigarettes. I do not know if they sell them that way anymore. We have seen the return of paper bags at supermarkets because plastic is hurting our planet and killing wildlife. Fewer of us are smoking, and we are living longer and better lives for it. It is thanks to Labor governments that we banned single-use plastics and drove down smoking rates. As for the little girl who wanted to work the cash registers for a living, it really does come down to what you know. As further proof of that, my respect for hard work also came from my parents and the discussions had at the dinner table. These chats always drew a connection between my parents’ work at the factory, their union and who was in government, because it really did matter. I was never in doubt that the Labor Party was our party because they cared for people like my family.

I was 17 when I witnessed the election of my first state Labor government, led by John Cain. For most of the time since, Labor has been the people’s choice. Victoria blossomed and came into its own. It grew in stature and pride because of its people and their belief that progressive Labor governments would deliver on what they valued: their aspirations and sense of community, the diversity of cultures, languages and faiths. The cleverness and hard work of our people have made Victoria a welcoming global state, the country’s most progressive state. I believe that governments are there to ensure that no-one is left behind, especially those most vulnerable and during times of significant economic structural change. The essential role of government as a democratic institution is to help people, communities and our environment to thrive, to grow, to share our social capital and to protect against unbridled excesses of big vested interests for whom governments simply get in the way. This is really code for the few of them wanting more and giving the rest of us less.

The energy sector is a flagship example of vested interests clashing with the interests of working people and the natural environment, which is why action on climate and the transformation of our energy system has been so fraught in Victoria and Australia, with conservative parties choosing to do the bidding of vested interests over the interests of the people and our environment. It is no wonder that people genuinely struggle to sort the facts from the fiction when the boardrooms present themselves as defenders of ordinary people. That is why I am proud that in my 12 years as Australia’s longest ever serving energy and climate minister, people and communities have always been at the heart of our actions. In an energy system that was the first and only in the country to be wholly privatised, we came to government in 2014 under the bounding and confident leadership of Daniel Andrews knowing the extent to which families were experiencing the harsh impacts of full-blown privatisation of this essential service. Gas and electricity disconnections had doubled, prices had hit record highs and Victorians had been left with inadequate consumer protections. Vested interests in the energy sector were more important to the Liberal government than ordinary working people, because they let it happen and did nothing about it.

We set about building new consumer protections and set new standards that the rest of the country followed, including the payment difficulty framework and the Victorian default offer. The retailers opposed the VDO and claimed that it would kill retail competition. It did not. Victorians did get lower prices, the retailers moved on and the number of retailers grew. The VDO fell by 5 per cent for households this July and is $444 lower than the default market offer in New South Wales, Queensland and South Australia – the lowest in the country – and our small businesses on the VDO are paying $1299 less than their counterparts in other states.

In 2014 just 10 per cent of our electricity came from renewables. In 2024–25 Victoria generated 45.1 ‍per cent from renewables and today has 44 wind farms and 44 solar farms in operation and 80 ‍renewable projects under construction – or with planning approval, Minister for Planning – and 10 ‍per cent of Victoria’s electricity comes from people’s rooftop solar, thanks to our Solar Homes program. We legislated five-yearly renewables and emissions targets, with 95 per cent renewables by 2035 and net zero emissions by 2045, and storage and offshore wind targets. We were the first state to support big batteries, through the Victorian energy storage initiative in 2017. With Ballarat and Gannawarra we quickly became the home of big batteries. We now have 25 big batteries because they provide cheaper energy. Big batteries are now overtaking gas generation, typically providing 10 per cent of Victoria’s power during the evening peak. In quarter 1 this year big batteries set the price more often than any other technology, suppressing wholesale prices. That is what ends up in people’s pockets. The SEC, the first publicly owned energy utility in Victoria since privatisation, is accelerating the new energy build, including the Delburn wind farm in the Latrobe Valley and the Horsham renewable energy park, the first 100 per cent publicly owned renewables project in the country. Strong and effective leadership is what you get when you bring evidence, good politics and good policy together. It is what you get when you put people at the heart of everything you do – doing the analysis, collecting the evidence and the science, understanding what this means for people and communities and not leaving anyone behind.

We also ended native timber harvesting. I know how fraught that was; I make no pretence about it. We banned the fracking of gas, with the strong support of environmental campaigners and farmers alike. Our planet is bearing the impacts of climate change, the loss of the natural environment and biodiversity and the harm to human health and way of life, and it is straining under the pressure of waste created from production processes. Our government was the first to establish and legislate a circular economy strategy to be smarter and more careful about the finite virgin materials we rely on and to first reuse, repurpose or recycle what we have already taken from the environment. There is a long way to go and much more needs to be done, but we led the country on this too.

We delivered the country’s first treaty with First Nations people. We cannot be the mature and peaceful society we want to be without being honest about our past, the good and the bad; making amends; and moving forward together, valuing and respecting each other as equals.

I have had the privilege to develop and deliver the first of many policy reforms to navigate the profound transformation of our energy system, with people always at the heart of change. We have implemented nation-leading energy consumer protections, grown cheap renewable energy and reduced our greenhouse gas emissions. It is because of such reforms that we are delivering for Victorians the cheapest energy prices in the country and the replacement electricity we need to support our future needs as ageing coal generation closes. In August Victoria became the first state in Australia to commence an offshore wind energy auction. Offshore wind is crucial to Victoria’s energy reliability and affordability and is great for Gippslanders – remember them; they are the ones that you shut energy on – growing the local economy and –

Danny O’Brien interjected.

Lily D’AMBROSIO: Sorry, I cannot help it. It is my valedictory; I can say what I want. It is creating thousands of new jobs each year, and many hundreds ongoing.

Danny O’Brien interjected.

Lily D’AMBROSIO: Oh, you do not have to stay. This is what communities have been calling for: a just transition and not leaving people behind. Where Victoria goes and where Victoria has gone, the rest of the country has followed, from the first net zero legislation in the country, ambitious renewable energy laws, the Victorian default offer, Victorian Energy Compare, the biggest and most modern Victorian energy upgrades program, Solar Homes, home and neighbourhood batteries, electric vehicle rebates to bringing back the State Electricity Commission.

Since 2024 alone – it is only two years ago – Labor’s policies have led to $13 billion of investment in approved renewable energy projects across the state, helping to grow Victoria’s energy sector jobs to 68,000 by 2040. We have not only set the most ambitious emissions reduction and renewable energy targets anywhere in the nation, we have achieved every one of them. We have cut emissions by 28.5 ‍per cent since 2014 and are decarbonising at the fastest rate. We were the first state to confront the realities of rising gas prices, caused by two things – one of which is decreasing reserves of gas in the Bass Strait, on which the eastern states have relied for decades to heat our homes, cook our food and support our industries. Victorian homes and businesses are more exposed than other states to price shocks because we have historically used more gas as it used to be very cheap; the opposite is true now. We also saw the start of global pricing apply to Australia’s domestic gas, pushing up prices even more and further still when global conflicts arise.

We cannot do anything about global conflicts, but ignoring the problem would have simply left Victorians to face higher and higher gas bills. Today, thanks to our leadership, with the Victorian energy upgrades program, hot water rebates, improved minimum energy efficiency standards for rental properties and new building electrification regulations, Victorians can go more electric or all electric at no additional up-front cost, and they will save on their energy bills from day one, for good. By doing this we are also conserving Victorian gas for businesses that cannot yet electrify. You see, though gas is more expensive than electricity to fuel our needs, Victorian gas is relatively cheaper than gas from elsewhere because it does not have to travel as far to get where it is needed. So in conserving Victorian gas, we are protecting Victorian businesses from even higher fuel bills, which is why the Australian Industry Group backed our plan. We make no apologies either for the fact that this policy is also reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The rest of the nation is now talking about and acting on electrification, and that is a great thing.

One thing I learned very early on as a minister is the power of vested interests, and the energy sector has plenty of them. Matt Kean and I have had conversations over time about this, and we are in furious agreement on this fact. A good government recognises this and makes the right decisions, rather than being spooked by dodgy research or scaremongering claims that the sky will fall in. A good government will always ask who is doing the scaring and why. Who benefits from it? Over 12 years as a minister, I have heard them all, believe me. The latest is from the gas pipeline operators. Our policies reducing consumption of expensive gas means that they make less profits because less gas goes through their pipelines. Our government will keep looking after the pockets of hardworking Victorians, because their bills matter every day.

Players in the broader energy sector vary. There are many great players and leaders, and I respect them and have worked well with them professionally to improve the system. They recognise that social licence is vital for an essential service. A good government uses evidence and science to develop good policy. Good politics, being on the side of people and not leaving people behind mean the right decisions get made. We have been a great government these last 12 years, and we have much to be proud of.

Everything in the energy sector is interconnected: retail, distribution, transmission and generation. A decision made in one area will have consequences elsewhere. Coal generators age and close down and, if there is not enough replacement in the system, prices go up. Too much reliance on expensive generation? Prices go up. Not enough capacity or delaying or cancelling new transmission? Cheap renewable generation will not get built, because it cannot connect, and prices go up. A well-planned transition takes care of all of the components, with the right technologies in the right order and at the right time. That is what lowers our emissions, grows our economy and gives us the cheapest energy prices, which our people and economy need.

Our state has a strong plan and reputation for getting new electricity projects and infrastructure built and reducing our greenhouse gas emissions – because, yes, you can do it all. We lead the country in it, which is why we continue to have consistently the lowest energy prices in the country and have reduced our emissions at the fastest rate. It is not by accident; it is by good design and clear intent. We need to keep going.

I want to acknowledge the premiers under whom I have served, Steve Bracks and John Brumby, whose leadership broke new ground on climate change, the natural environment and energy. I want to especially thank Daniel Andrews and Jacinta Allan, who gave me the latitude and trust to go even further in breaking new ground in these areas, setting new standards nationally both in ambition and achievement. I knew that I always had to have the evidence, the policy and the politics to win the arguments, and I confess that there were some arguments that I won by simply wearing people down with the evidence, the policy and the politics. But everyone knew where I stood, and I am glad of that. I never set out to be liked; I set out to be respected for the work and the outcomes. I am happy if you like me too, but you do not have to. I know that Premier Ben Carroll will continue to take Victoria in the right direction in energy, environment and climate action, because I do know personally that he cares about the future of these elements. The answers lie in facing the future with courage, not in going back.

To the many members of my ministerial staff over these special years, including Andrew Giles, Ian Porter, Tim Sonnreich, Emily Garnett, Nick Parry, Francesco Naismith and Shani Bulliff, and all advisers in all of their glorious diversity – they know what this means – I thank them for their inspiring dedication and tenacity, their intelligence, their Labor values and their unbounded commitment to the mission. To the wonderful people who staff my electorate office and keep the wheels turning and focused on people in the community, my office manager Eric, Uma, Eugenia, Kris and Kawdar: thank you.

I do want to give a shout-out to someone whom I have known for many years and have respected and admired. They are very shy, so I will simply refer to them by their initial, P. You know who you are. I am not going to tell you afterwards either.

To my second family, the Australian Labor Party and the Australian Services Union, who have always had my back and the backs of working people and community – I thank the unions that have embraced the need to act on climate change and the benefits and new job opportunities it can deliver to their members.

I thank the traditional owners for their friendship and partnerships in these areas. They have never given up hope and work hard every day for self-determination and just outcomes.

I thank the comrades in the environment movement and the social welfare organisations who know the value of working with a government that can get things done. You have helped make the difference.

To my family, Andrew, Eleanor, Madeleine and Joel: thank you for everything. I love you. You have given up so much for so long, and I will not ever forget it. I promise I will not try to wind back the clock in an effort to make up for lost time. None of us can ever really do that. We have each grown in our own ways, but we have done that together with each other’s love and support. I look forward to what the future holds for us as a family.

I again thank the people of Mill Park and wish Elizabeth Nealy well in the upcoming election as Labor’s candidate.

Finally, I hope that my life in public service shows all girls what is possible for them, no matter their faith, what they look like or the way they speak – and yes, I do have a Fawkner accent. Always back yourselves and each other. There is no place where you do not belong. Thank you.

Members applauded.