Wednesday, 8 June 2022

Motions

Gas supply and prices

Debate resumed.

Mr HAYES (Southern Metropolitan) (16:18): Of course I share the concerns of many about this energy crisis. The domestic gas shortage is a fundamental threat to our economy and people’s wellbeing. If not resolved, and soon, it threatens to feed into already surging inflation figures. It also threatens thousands of jobs in our manufacturing industry. A lot of these workers would also be mortgage holders. The seriousness of this situation cannot be overstated. Our industries are closing or only operating on certain days because of the high price of gas in particular. At the heart of it is the Ukraine war. We saw back in 1973 that a war in the Middle East also caused a surge in energy prices and inflation, and we are seeing it again here today.

I thank Mr Davis for his motion to discuss this today. We do need an adequate supply of energy, as Mr Ondarchie said, but we cannot use this as an excuse to turn the clock back and think that we can rely even more on fossil fuels. I encourage the government to keep going with this program of energy substitution. We have just got to be better at it and get faster at it and transition to renewables as quickly as possible. So I call on the Andrews government to take whatever action it can. And it may well have taken action, because I just heard news that Mr Andrews has called for some sort of intervention in the market. I have not got the details yet. I call on the government to take whatever action it can, but the main game is in Canberra of course. But that is not to rule out room for action by the states, like Victoria.

I refer to statements this week by Mr Andrew Liveris, who was previously appointed by the former Prime Minister Scott Morrison to direct a gas-led recovery during the COVID-19 pandemic. While I do not agree with relying on a gas-led recovery, he did speak strongly about what to do now, and I do agree with him. Mr Liveris called on the federal government to intervene in the gas market and establish a domestic gas reservation scheme to deal with the energy crisis. He pointed out that our gas exporters are making an absolute fortune out of the Ukraine war, as gas prices are linked to skyrocketing oil prices and our gas here is a cheap source of energy. Australia is also the largest producer of gas in the world, yet we are supposedly short of gas for our people and for our industry. Mr Liveris said he does not favour price setting or subsidies for manufacturers; instead, he favours 15 to 20 per cent of gas produced across the east coast of Australia being reserved for the domestic market. In Western Australia they do that and just that. Their gas is far cheaper than ours, and they are not having the same sort of skyrocketing price problems that we are having here. Victoria could do the same. I quote Mr Liveris. He said:

You just do an allocation and cap the amount … you export because this is the problem. We export 95 per cent of our gas … I wouldn’t subsidise. I don’t think you have to.

I’d rather set some export controls, allocate a percentage of the gas domestically, do a reservation scheme and get us through this temporary issue.

Maybe that is what the Victorian government is doing. I hope so. Western Australia went it alone, and they endured quite a bit of a fight to do it. Mr Liveris did say our government would probably cop some heat from international oil companies. Indeed we would cop a lot of heat, but we are in a crisis, and there is no easy way out of a crisis. This is the best sustainable way in the long term. So I call on the state government to do what it can. It is possible to do this. Look at clever Western Australia. We do not want to be dumb on the other hand. It has a 15 per cent gas reservation for domestic use. But I believe the best thing this government can do is to pressure the government in Canberra to take the advice of Mr Liveris. And if they can do something on their own, well and good. That would be great.

That someone from the corporate sector like Mr Liveris is recommending government intervention in the gas market should be proof enough that this is a really serious situation. It threatens our economy and our manufacturing industry, puts upward pressure on interest rates and inflation and therefore threatens mortgages—all for international companies, many of whom do not pay tax here and are making huge profit at the expense of Victorians. So let us get behind this. I agree with statements that if we had invested more in renewable storage and grid upgrades in the last decade we would be in a much better position. But we did not, and this is where we are. So I call on the government to fight this battle in Canberra or to do something in our own gas market. The gas is extracted here, and as much gas as our economy and Australian households need should stay here.

Ms BATH (Eastern Victoria) (16:24): I am pleased to rise to speak in support of Mr Ondarchie’s motion today and flag the very real need we have for energy in this state and the very important role that gas plays as a peaking energy fuel to counter when peak demand comes on, also as a feedstock for a whole raft of industries—indeed the medical industry and manufacturing of medical equipment—and indeed in heating our homes and cooking our food through the normal channels. I know in country Victoria many gas users are not on connected gas. They use bottled gas, and my constituents and indeed I have certainly recognised that bottled gas has gone up significantly over the last few years.

When I first came to this place one of the first inquiries that I was involved in on the Environment and Planning Committee was the inquiry into unconventional gas. We tripped around the state, heard from various stakeholders and had a very broad ranging discussion on that. What we know on this side of the house is that back in 2010 to 2014 The Nationals and the Liberals put a moratorium on fracking and the other associated fairly serious and potentially carcinogenic substances that were involved in that type of gas extraction. Very sensibly we put that moratorium on. In effect, previous to that, in the Brumby-Bracks era, we know that there were a number of fracking licences—I think it was up around the hundred mark—and also exploration licences. We put the brakes on to look at the science and see the appropriateness—or in this case the inappropriateness—of using that as a mode, and really it did not have a public licence, it did not have a social licence. The jury is out; it is still widely used, I think, overseas, certainly in America. But it was felt, wisely I think, that we needed to put the brakes on, and subsequently in the Andrews government there has been not only a moratorium but a complete ban, and we certainly endorse that. So I would just like to put on record—when those across on the other side of the house start gallivanting about on their virtues—that generally and reasonably it was that previous government that put those brakes on to assess, and then ultimately we have seen the banning of unconventional gas.

However, as I said, gas plays a very important role, often in regional Victoria, as a manufacturing component. In specialised types of manufacturing you need gas. For one of my constituents in Morwell I spoke with a few years ago, their gas bill had gone up absolutely exponentially. They were manufacturing extrusion plastics that were used in playgrounds, and they were actually exporting them overseas and around our country. They were made in Morwell, which was fantastic to see. But it puts pressure absolutely on our manufacturing industries when they have got their feedstock and preferred supply getting up to these huge, huge costs.

We see in the media and we know that the Australian Energy Market Operator, AEMO, has certainly flagged a gas supply shortfall trigger event, and this will occur across Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania and be in effect from June this year, so we are in the middle of it. AEMO has identified a gas shortfall trigger in these states. Again, when I first went into that inquiry we were talking about petajoules in very low values, and we can see here in the media that it is absolutely nuts in terms of the gas price and how to deal with that. There are exports, without a doubt, and they are adding to the complexity.

I note the new Minister for Climate Change and Energy in the federal Parliament has put out media and discusses in the media the need for coal-fired power stations to stop their planned shutdowns and come back on. It is like putting pressure on those productions, and it just struck me as somewhat strange that often for various reasons we are casting aside the coal-fired power stations when we need them to power the country. The minister is now saying, ‘Stop your shutdowns, and come back on very quickly’. So we need to have a sensible debate about this, but certainly the need is real.

Moving forward, in terms of our policy at the previous election, going in in 2017 the Liberals and Nationals very much put forward a commonsense plan around keeping prices low, working with landholders about safe access to conventional onshore gas and doing those negotiations to ask to the landholder, ‘Are you happy with this?’, and say that they have the right of veto and that there would be a positive association and recompense for them. That original inquiry that I was involved in certainly showed that there are still reserves of onshore gas in Victoria to tap into. Again, all things need to be sensible. One of the interesting outcomes of the recent renewables inquiry—and I know that there was a high degree of consensus about the need to move to renewables—is the fact that we have seen an increase in energy market prices of around 7 per cent per annum over the period of the last 10 to 20 years. So it is increasing, and that certainly has, as I said, played a role in manufacturing.

The other thing that is quite challenging for our Victorian consumers and for manufacturing is that Australia as a whole really sits in the lower third quartile for our energy costs, so it is hard to be competitive on the world stage when our input costs are so high. I certainly agree—and I think we have heard people in this house concur—about the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which we all condemn, but that is again putting pressure on the system.

Finally, in relation to the inquiry that we have just had on renewables and the need to move to a sensible transition to renewables over time when there is the capacity there and when there is the stability and reliability—and these are some of the very sincere words that those in the profession spoke—one of the committee recommendations, and this is one thing that I really was most concerned about, was the need to move away from gas in new homes. Certainly I think the thing that the Andrews government frequently do is not think about what happens outside the tram tracks, because rural and regional people do not have that luxury sometimes of the flexibility of electricity supply, and I think the government get so focused on Melbourne that they do not see that in rural and regional Victoria.

Finally we see—and I know Mr Ondarchie brought this up in his commentary—that the government is shelving its plan on this very topic. It is shelving its plan to cut gas heating, stovetops and hot-water heaters by 50 per cent until after the state election. We have seen that today in the media. Again it is, ‘Trust us, we’ll get to the other side’. Victorians need that steady supply. We need a transition that works and is sensible. Gas is certainly an aspect of that, and indeed it is incumbent on the Andrews government to be straight with Victorians and to come to the party and help solve this very serious issue.

Ms TAYLOR (Southern Metropolitan) (16:35): There are many aspects to this debate and I am happy to explore a number of them, noting that Ms Shing has already acquitted many of the significant and critical factors that are causing some of the acute issues with gas supply and making it very clear that it is not Ms D’Ambrosio’s fault about the war in Ukraine and the global gas shortages. If you listen to the opposition, it is her fault for everything to do with energy supply across the globe. Can we just clarify that Minister D’Ambrosio is not to blame for the global shortage in gas supply and issues with Russia and Ukraine and the like. I am glad that we have got that clear and on the table.

The simple reality is that we are sending too much gas overseas. We have long advocated for a domestic gas security mechanism to restrict LNG exports in the event of an export-driven shortfall. I should further note that we are now happy to have a federal government that cares about driving down the cost of living and addressing climate change, because if you want to have a go at our government about action, we are happy to tell you about all the action that has taken place on this side of the chamber. If we think back to the dark, dark ages, the Baillieu government absolutely strangled the wind industry and had them on their knees, costing thousands of jobs and billions of dollars of investment. That is the thing that I never quite understand with those opposite: they do not realise the economic advantages of investing in renewables. You often hear the expression—I even heard Mr Littleproud in one of his debates talk about it—‘Oh, when the sun don’t shine’ and those old debates. That is why you have batteries. That is why you have energy efficiency. I do not have confidence in the current federal opposition, but that is okay because we now have a federal Labor government and they are absolutely getting on with things. We now feel much more confident that we have a partner when it comes to the acute and I should say the longer term issue of gas supply but also truly a partner in supporting further and more profound investment in renewables, above and beyond what we have already done in Victoria.

Let me tell you, no government in Victoria’s history has done more to bring on line clean energy than the Andrews Labor government. Let that be clear. This has never been more urgent. I did hear that discussion around coal, because the simple reality is that right now we have about 20 per cent of our coal generation off line, and this is simply a reflection of the fact that our coal generators are getting old and less reliable, which is why the Andrews Labor government has worked so hard to bring on line new sources of renewable energy.

Let me go to that as well, because I heard some comments about regional Victoria—that renewables may not mean so much for those areas. But a lot of the investment in renewables is in regional Victoria, and that actually drives jobs and investment in regional Victoria. So again I do not understand why those opposite do not understand the economic aspects of investing in clean energy: jobs and investment. It makes a lot of good common sense even if you are a complete climate sceptic. I do not understand why they are not attracted to at the very minimum the economic advantages of investing in clean energy.

So let us look at the action on this side of the chamber. It really peeves me and it is a slight against Ms D’Ambrosio, the minister, because she has done an enormous amount, a Trojan amount, since we have been in government to invest in clean energy. I think it was you, Mr Ondarchie, just to be clear, that was misleading the house. Let me tell you, because obviously you have not paid attention to what has happened. Since we were elected 55 projects providing 3991 megawatts of new capacity—and let me tell you, this is clear and this is classic, he is not interested in renewable energy. It is all a furphy. That side of the house pretend to care about renewable energy, but they could not care less. Fossil fuels all the way!

As I was saying, new capacity has come on line and is providing clean energy to the grid. Five renewable energy projects, which will provide 502 megawatts of capacity, are also under construction—action, action, action. These are driving down energy prices right now and are providing low-cost, clean, renewable energy. We have run the largest reverse auction in Australia’s history, and we are running another auction to bring on line at least 600 megawatts of new renewable energy to power the entire government’s operations. Look, I can understand why this irritates those opposite. You know, they are mystified by it because this is just not their show, this is not their thing, this is not their schtick. We set ambitious targets to bring offshore wind on line—2 gigawatts by 2032, 4 gigawatts by 2035 and 9 gigawatts by 2040; really solid, good long-range plans now underway. This game-changing technology will create tens of thousands of jobs, billions of dollars of investment and a vital source of new renewable energy.

We are also making sure that every Victorian household can take part in the renewables revolution, with over 200 000 households installing solar thanks to our Solar Homes program. And let me tell you how popular that is. I mean, the uptake is clear, isn’t it? It shows just how popular it is, because I know based on this uptake Victorians want to be part of the clean energy revolution. They want a future for their kids; they also want downward pressure on power prices. They know a good thing when they see it, and these households would simply have missed out if it were not for our program, plain and simple, because we made it accessible. That is it. We have built the biggest battery in the Southern Hemisphere with the Victorian Big Battery—get this—in Moorabool.

Mr Ondarchie: On a point of order, Acting President, I ask you to draw the speaker back to the motion. The motion talks about gas pricing and gas supply in this state, and not once has she talked about that in her contribution—

Ms TAYLOR: I did!

Mr Ondarchie: so I ask you to bring her back to this, please.

The ACTING PRESIDENT (Ms Patten): Thank you, Mr Ondarchie. I certainly did hear Ms Taylor discussing gas. But yes, please, we will stick to the motion, Ms Taylor.

Ms TAYLOR: This is the whole point. If we are talking about energy supply, then surely—

A member: There is more than one source.

Ms TAYLOR: See, there is more than one. But see, those opposite do not want to know about renewables. Classic; he walked right in. He took the bait because he does not want to talk about renewables because they do not have a story there.

We are installing neighbourhood batteries across Victoria, and did you hear about the first big battery that opened in North Fitzroy on Sunday, in the north? This will soak up solar power and make it available in the evenings when we need it most—

A member interjected.

Ms TAYLOR: Sorry, was there something?

A member interjected.

Ms TAYLOR: Yes, I am aware of this, but we are talking about energy. We are bringing it back to energy. So if you are talking about costs and you are talking about energy supply—

Mr Ondarchie: On a point of order, Acting President, your directive was very clear to the speaker to talk about gas supply and gas prices. It was very clear, and I put to you that she is in fact ignoring your directive.

Ms Tierney: Further to the point of order, Acting President, I clearly heard you mention that you had heard Ms Taylor actually mention gas, and then she was going on and talking about other forms of energy. You asked her to continue.

Ms TAYLOR: Well, I can repeat what I said at the beginning. The simple reality is that we are sending too much gas overseas. We have long advocated a domestic gas security mechanism—he obviously did not hear me say that at the outset—to restrict LNG exports in the event of an export-driven shortfall. I said that at the outset, and he can check Hansard if he does not believe me.

Now, we are also helping households reduce their bills with energy efficiency and reducing their gas usage. I mentioned the word ‘gas’. Hey, I mentioned the word ‘gas’. Is he happy now? Because he does not want to talk about renewables, because they do not believe in them. That is why he is objecting. He took the bait again. Twice he has taken the bait and proven they do not like renewables. They did not want to talk about it. So thank you very much, you have actually done me a favour. I really appreciate it.

Our highly successful Victorian energy upgrades program is ensuring that every household can take advantage of lower energy bills. Now, factoring in the different forms of energy supply that people may be reliant upon, energy efficiency is also incredibly important for putting downward pressure on power bills. So are they opposed to energy efficiency as well? Am I going to be objected to as well for that? No? Okay, I get a tick for that one. I am allowed to talk about energy efficiency, fantastic. So our targets will deliver emissions reductions that are the equivalent of taking 8.5 million cars off the road. Victorians participating in the program and implementing energy upgrades will see annual average savings of at least $120 and $510 for households and businesses respectively. Even those who do not participate will save on their bills, with households saving $150 and businesses saving $870 over the next 10 years. (Time expired)

Mr QUILTY (Northern Victoria) (16:45): I will be brief. Before I get started, in response to Ms Shing, I would be thrilled to have a nuclear reactor in my backyard, but then I am not a nimby. If Ms Shing had been listening to the residents of eastern Victoria during the recent inquiry into the closure of the coal-fired power stations, she might have discovered a lot more people who would be happy to have nuclear power plants in their backyards. The real problem is the NIABYs—not in anyone’s backyard. They want to stop everyone from having them. People who want real jobs, economic growth and cheap, reliable energy are the ones who want the reactors. But I digress.

The energy market is a chaotic disaster of regulation piled on top of regulation. It is a train wreck. Governments like to pretend that privatisation is the problem, but the truth is the energy market is subject to strict government regulatory control from top to bottom. There are price caps, bans on production, a national price-setting body, large subsidies for various types of production, enormous regulatory risk and many restrictions on retail practices. This is not a free market. It is what a government-run system looks like—chaos, shortage and looming disaster, a train jumping off the rails.

The most recent outcome of the government’s management of the energy market is a gas shortage where prices have surged as much as 8000 per cent. Politicians complain that evil profit-seeking corporations are the problem, so I am eager to hear them explain why an 8000 per cent surge in prices is not creating enough profit to incentivise new gas production and domestic sales. If anything, it looks like these companies hate profit. Why else would they pass up more sales at these prices? The situation is so bizarre that some energy companies are asking their customers to switch to a competitor. Is there anyone silly enough to think this sounds like a free market?

Anyone who has been paying attention knows that gas supply is heavily restricted in Victoria. In the previous few years the government has even put some of these restrictions into the constitution. Free speech apparently is not important enough to make it into the constitution, but restricting the gas supply somehow makes the cut. The reason ReAmped Energy is trying to get rid of its customers is that the government-controlled market is now subject to a price cap. The CEO of ReAmped explained that the more customers the company keeps, the higher prices would need to go because it has no choice but to pass on the wholesale cost. He expects other small retailers to follow suit and mentions that the bigger players might be better placed to handle the conditions. The ticket operators are closing their booths because the network is falling apart. When the government intervenes in a market, things start to go wrong. When a government interferes as much in a market as they have done in the energy market, ultimately the wheels will fall off, as they are falling off now.

The government thinks Victoria is going to switch from gas to green energy, but green energy is useless without gas to firm the load. If we were to switch to nuclear energy baseload generation instead of wind turbines, we would have a workable solution, but Ms Shing and her nimbys will not let us do that. There is a band name for you—Shing and the Nimbys. In the real world, to solve the gas crisis we need to drill for more gas. This government does not solve problems; it slaps a bandaid on and tries to cover up the problems, kicking the can down the road until after the next election. That works for a while, but eventually the wheels fall off, as we are now seeing right across the Victorian economy, so we will get to watch this energy train derail.

Mr GEPP (Northern Victoria) (16:49): I rise to speak on Mr Ondarchie’s motion. I was a bit worried this morning when the whip was reading out the list of motions that were on the books today and she looked at me and said, ‘Gepp, you’ve got gas’. I thought I was being discreet, but it would appear not!

I am not sure how one follows Mr Quilty’s contribution, because it was absolutely full of gas. It was full of the hyperbole that we have heard for a number of years now from those opposite. I would say to those opposite, if you actually want to know why the number against your name nosedived at the federal election, just go back and read some of these speeches—because they are so weird, so wacky and so out of line with just about every person that I speak to. I do not know where your constituents are. I do not run across them very often, and thank goodness, because these are just crazy, crazy, crazy themes that you keep on and on about. Your contributions are nothing more. You know, earlier in this chamber today we talked about bullying and harassment, and all we hear constantly from the Liberal Democrats whenever they stand up in this place is that they want to be abusive, they want to talk violently and they never offer any real solutions, but they just ramp it up again and again and again and again and again so that they can continue to appeal to their ever-diminishing base. Well, keep it up. Keep it up, I say, because your esteemed leader will one day—well, I do not know who their leader is, I have got to say. I am not sure they know, but when he comes back I am sure this will be amped up again as we get closer to the election.

I want to just talk very briefly about Ms Bath’s contribution. What we hear frequently from those opposite when we are talking about most things on a Wednesday—at least once, if not on multiple occasions—is that this government forgets about regional and rural Victoria. I do not know whether they have actually looked at the composition of this Parliament. This government has more regional and rural MPs on our side than those opposite have. In fact, you talk to the people in our caucus and they say the growing number in caucus is our regional caucus. They all want to get in because we are the biggest cohort. It is just illogical, isn’t it? Isn’t it illogical that we would then forget about those electorates and say we will just shelve those because, according to those opposite, we only think along the tram tracks?

You ought to go back and you ought to think about how we got to this state in this state in relation to energy. Of course Mr Quilty dismissed the argument about privatisation, but as somebody who has been around the public service for all of my working life I can tell you that every time something is privatised by a government there are consequences. There are consequences further down the track, and surprise, surprise—the then Premier, Jeffrey Gibb Kennett, privatised in this space. We said at the time, ‘If you do this, inevitably the market will be in such control that they will continue to chase the dollar; they will continue to offshore this very valuable natural resource to the extent that it would harm domestic supply’. And we are here, but apparently that is not the reason. It is not the reason, and yet we have the Australian Energy Market Operator who says that we produce enough gas here in this state for our domestic demands. We produce enough, but of course far too much of it is sent overseas. It is sent to other jurisdictions and that puts pressure here on supply, and of course we know when there is pressure on supply through demand then prices go up. I do not know why they do not understand that. But of course they want to wash their hands of the decisions that they took, that they were responsible for, that have ultimately led to these sorts of consequences.

I want to join Ms Shing and Ms Taylor in their praise of Minister D’Ambrosio in the other place, who has been an out-and-out champion of clean energy and renewables in this place. Certainly under her watch I can tell you from personal experience in my own electorate of Northern Victoria how she has driven the change in industry across Northern Victoria. You go up there and you ought to see the panels out in the paddocks. They are everywhere, and Minister D’Ambrosio does not stop. She continues each and every day to pursue cleaner, renewable energy for consumption here in this place, and she will not stop.

I want to talk about, very briefly, privatisation. When we came to government in 2014 the subsequent impact of privatisation was energy prices were out of control. Let us just have a look at what happened. Let us have a look at gas and residential disconnections, just as one indicator of what would happen ultimately after you privatise. Residential disconnections in 2019 were 15 473 in this state; in 2013–‍14, before we came to government, there were 24 007; and in 2019–20, 8606. We dropped from 24 000 when they were last in office to 8606.

When we came in we recognised that there was a significant problem, and one of the first things that we did, understanding that there was an enormous imbalance in the market, was commission the independent review into the electricity and gas retail markets in Victoria, headed by a former Deputy Premier of this state, John Thwaites—

A member: A good man.

Mr GEPP: He is a very good man—to examine how the market was operating and to deliver recommendations on making energy fairer and easier to understand. That review was released in August 2017, and it concluded that the competitive energy market in Victoria was not delivering outcomes in the best interests of consumers. It was a searing indictment of our privatised energy sector—a sector privatised by those opposite. The report made 11 recommendations as a part of the review, and we accepted every single one of those recommendations and we are supportive of them.

We have done much in this space to make energy consumption more available and more competitive for consumers, particularly with a number of the initiatives of late. We have the Victorian Energy Compare website. We have had the $50 power saving bonus scheme, and we had nearly 400 000 applications and paid $98 million to those who need it most in this space. And from 1 July—and I know Mr Leane is very excited about this—we are going to move to the third phase of the PSB program by providing another $250 to every Victorian household that accesses the Victorian Energy Compare website. That is all you have to do: go to the website. You just have to access the website, and 250 bucks is coming your way to assist you with your power bills.

As Ms Taylor said, we are very, very pleased that we now have a partner at the federal level who is very, very interested in not only clean and renewable energies but also addressing the current imbalance in our gas supply system. We look forward to working closely with the federal government to continue to deliver for all Victorians. I reject the motion.

Dr KIEU (South Eastern Metropolitan) (16:59): With pleasure I rise to speak to Mr Davis’s motion, which is about the Victorian gas supply crisis. There are a few things in here. First, the gas supply crisis. It is well known in economics 101 that demand and supply go together, and the demand for gas, particularly in our state of Victoria, has not changed that much over recent times but supply has been affected so much, so severely by what has happened elsewhere. We know about the Ukraine war; we know about the short supply of gas. But the problem is that the short supply not only puts pressure on the supply of gas but also puts pressure on the prices of gas that we are paying, because there is a price parity. We are paying the international price of gas that we produce and then export. And how much do we export? Eighty per cent of the gas produced here is being exported overseas. That is the first part of the equation. The next part of the equation is about Victoria. Why Victoria? It is a national crisis at this very moment. The minister for energy in the newly elected federal government—thankfully we have had a change of government—is having a conference nationally with all the ministers for energy from all the states. So this is not a crisis only for Victoria, this is an international crisis impacting nationally, not just Victoria.

We, as the Victorian government, have long advocated for a domestic gas security mechanism, and that is to have a gas supply security mechanism to preserve and reserve enough gas for domestic consumption. So by implication we talk about gas, but we have to talk about energy in general and what this government has done—plentiful. Let me start by talking about support for consumers. In 2018 we had the energy fairness plan and we introduced the Victorian default offer. That is still very much a strong mechanism and a way of helping the consumer to pay reasonable prices for the energy that they have to consume. Even with the recent energy price increases, the VDO—Victorian default offer—is still much lower than the standard offers were in 2019 before the VDO was introduced. Typically annual bills are around $440 lower for the typical residential consumer and $2370 lower for an average small business customer.

We can talk about the very successful and well-received power saving bonus. There are three different phases. In the first one we gave $50 to people who visit Victorian Energy Compare; they will be and have been entitled to $50. And then we extended the power saving bonus by providing a one-off $250 payment to vulnerable Victorians who have a concession card and those who are receiving JobKeeper or JobSeeker. That has already been taken up by 400 000 applicants, and the government has paid out $98 million to those who need it most. Now this has been extended further from 1 July to all Victorians who come to Victorian Energy Compare; they will be entitled to $250. So potentially a household could get up to $550—$250 and $50, plus the $250 from 1 July. We also help those having difficulty paying through the payment difficulty framework.

A member interjected.

Dr KIEU: As my colleague has just mentioned, in the Kennett and previous Liberal governments the disconnection rate was skyrocketing, and since 2019 we have reduced by half the disconnections of electricity and energy from households. In fact during the difficult COVID time in the last two years we banned disconnections so that people would be protected.

We cannot talk about energy without talking about renewables. They are very much an important component of the energy supply. One megawatt typically is sufficient for about 400 to 900 households, so on average 700 households per 1 megawatt. We have 55 projects providing nearly 4000 megawatts. Particularly with offshore wind, by 2040 we are aiming to get 9 gigawatts. What is the equivalent number of homes that can be supported by that? The number is a staggering 7 million homes for that amount of power. It is not only power generated by renewable sources; with creative and new renewable energy technology we will have tens of thousands of jobs and billions of dollars of investment and also help the climate change pressure that we are facing.

Mr Finn interjected.

Dr KIEU: I know you do not believe in climate change. But look at the weather and the scientific evidence that we have had. I just have to mention in particular that only last Sunday we had the very first neighbourhood battery being opened in North Fitzroy, and that is going to be the first of many neighbourhood batteries rolled out across Victoria.

We also have to talk about the Victorian Energy Upgrades program that helps households and also businesses with $420 savings for households and $510 for businesses per year. The program also creates and supports 2200 jobs. We are the only state to do this kind of vital work, with many different approaches supporting renewable energy and several schemes to help households as well as business, as we have done with decarbonising the electricity sector. Our intent is to deliver economic growth and investment and also good jobs and greater affordability for all Victorians as we carefully lay down the policies along those critical pathways.

Mr LEANE (Eastern Metropolitan—Minister for Local Government, Minister for Suburban Development, Minister for Veterans) (17:08): I think I have got 5 minutes.

Members interjecting.

The ACTING PRESIDENT (Mr Gepp): We only need one Chair, thank you. At 10 past 5 I will throw to Mr Ondarchie to sum up. Mr Leane, who has now got a minute: go.

Mr LEANE: I need to be very brief, so I will just make one point. After you have been a little bit unkind to me, Acting President, I will be kind to you and say that part of your contribution and Dr Kieu’s spoke about how all of a sudden there is this amnesia around privatisation—I think particularly Mr Davis was part of that Kennett privatisation—and how that affects private companies actually prioritising where they send their gas to make some money. That is fair enough. And it kind of strikes me that there is this amnesia or this being really slow on what is actually happening around them, particularly in the Liberal Party. A perfect example just recently was when Mr Davis and others all of a sudden, only a couple weeks ago, kind of hit their foreheads and went, ‘Wow, Bernie Finn has some really extreme views on anti-abortion’. They hit their heads. So when did that happen? Only 24 years ago.

Mr Davis: On a point of order, Acting President, this motion is about gas policy, perhaps energy policy, but I think we are into social policy here, which—

The ACTING PRESIDENT (Mr Gepp): Thank you. I think Mr Leane was just about to finish his contribution, so I can throw to Mr Ondarchie to sum up.

Mr ONDARCHIE (Northern Metropolitan) (17:10): It is interesting that we are talking about gas, because there has been a lot of hot air coming from the other side of the chamber today. We, the Liberals-Nationals coalition, believe very firmly in reliable, affordable and clean energy. We do. This government, with Labor having been in power 19 of the last 23 years, have failed Victorians on their gas supply, and Victorian families and small businesses are going to be hit harder with higher gas prices because they continue to play politics with energy. Today there are clear reports that their plan to turn off the gas ducted heating, to turn off the gas hot water and to turn off the gas stove is being shelved by Minister D’Ambrosio until after the election. ‘We’ve got something up our sleeves’, the government is saying, ‘but we’re not going to tell you till after the election’.

One thing is very clear in this state: there is a gas supply crisis. We know it, the public know it, business know it and the government know it. There has been upwards pressure on gas prices because of this government’s failure to act. Do not forget that between 2014 and halfway through 2020 this government banned onshore gas supplies, banned resourcing of critical supplies through conventional gas exploration—

Mr Leane: You want to frack now?

Mr ONDARCHIE: Not fracking, Mr Leane, to correct the record—through conventional gas supplies. This government refused to. Once again they are late to the table. It does not matter whether it is health, it does not matter whether it is ambos, it does not matter whether it is education, it does not matter whether it is lockdown; this government are always late to make decisions. And how is it that every other Victorian knows there is a problem except for the government? You know why? Because it is more about their spin and politics than it is about the care and wellbeing of Victorians. I commend this motion to the house.

Motion agreed to.