Tuesday, 1 August 2023

Energy policy

Joe McCRACKEN (Western Victoria) (20:16): (341) My adjournment matter is to the Minister for Energy and Resources, and it relates to the cancellation of gas in new homes in Victoria from 2024 onwards. The action that I seek is very simple: repeal this destructive and horrendous policy. Eighty per cent of Victorian homes rely on gas to cook food and heat their homes. Depriving new homes of this access to a resource not only removes an efficient and reliable commodity for households but also forces households to install electrical appliances. This is obviously designed to increase demand for electricity, which will as a result force up prices across the board. But the silliness of this policy cannot be understated. Victoria still has an incredibly heavy reliance on brown and black coal, particularly for energy generation of course. According to the Australian Financial Review article on 28 July titled ‘Vic gas ban is no spectacular win for the climate’:

Brown coal … accounted for 68 per cent of electricity produced in Victoria in 2020 …

Now, if the plan is to cut gas out of the energy sector in order to get to net zero, you need to have a reliable baseload alternative, and until the government can ensure that the wind blows 24/7, the sun shines 24/7 and that we can store energy for more than 10 minutes in a battery, there is no viable alternative to gas. It certainly is not renewables at this point of time, let alone the cost effectiveness of it all. And given that gas has actually lower emissions than coal, wouldn’t it make more sense to have more gas and not less? Even if, environmentally, that was your only concern, brown coal would be of greater concern than gas. So why the transition away from gas towards coal? Because that is what is actually happening, and without an alternative, there is an increased reliance on brown and black coal instead of gas. It is just that simple. It is common sense. But I guess this government is great at cancelling things – cancel gas, cancel the Commonwealth Games, cancel the airport rail link. What is the next reckless cancellation that we are going to see?