Thursday, 31 August 2023

Bills

Energy Legislation Amendment Bill 2023

Second reading

Debate resumed on motion of Ingrid Stitt:

That the bill be now read a second time.

David DAVIS (Southern Metropolitan) (10:19): I am pleased to rise and make a contribution to this debate on the Energy Legislation Amendment Bill 2023. The bill is a step in the transition of the energy sector to achieve net zero emissions by 2045 while ostensibly ensuring reliable supply of energy to Victorian consumers. The omnibus bill amends the National Electricity (Victoria) Act 2005 and the National Gas (Victoria) Act 2008. It claims to deliver better outcomes. The main purpose is to amend the National Electricity Victoria Act 2005 to incorporate decision-making requirements that will apply to the minister when deciding whether to make a T-3 reliability instrument under the National Electricity (Victoria) Law. It also amends, as I said, the National Gas (Victoria) Act. It enables regulations to be made to:

… prescribe a civil penalty for a breach of a declared system provision that is prescribed to be a civil penalty provision …

It makes further modifications to the National Gas (Victoria) Law as it applies:

… to enable the Supreme Court to make an order that a person pay a civil penalty for a breach of a declared system provision that is prescribed to be a civil penalty provision …

It also updates references to the Essential Services Commission gas distribution system code – part 6 of the Essential Services Commission Act 2001.

The retailer reliability obligation (RRO) started on 1 July 2019, and it is designed to support a reliable energy system by requiring energy retailers with some large energy users to hold contracts and invest directly in generation or demand response to support the reliability of the national electricity market. The NEM, the national electricity market, is undergoing some significant transition driven by rapid technological change as we move to a lower emissions electricity system. There is a large influx of intermittent renewables along with recent and upcoming closures of thermal generators, and we know that some have already closed in Victoria – earlier than expected – and the government has not guaranteed a reliable supply of energy. There will be a need to take extra measures to ensure reliability of electricity supply. The COAG energy council agreed to implement the retailer reliability obligation to help manage the risk of declining reliability.

The RRO is designed to ensure retailers are accountable for reliability in a way they have not been before, and I will say something about this in a moment. If the RRO is triggered, it will require retailers to enter into sufficient contracts to meet their share of expected system peak demand. Retailers can choose to contract with any form of generation – it could be solar, hydro, gas, whatever, batteries. However, on the reliability enhancing firming: the firmer the contracted generation source is, the greater its contribution will be to meeting obligation. This is designed to provide some incentive for market participants to invest in the right technologies in regions where it is needed to support reliability in the national electricity market.

The provisions in the bill set out a framework, and this was recently amended to enable jurisdictional energy ministers to trigger the RRO. The bill will introduce Victoria-specific decision-making. I just want to make a point here. The Commonwealth and the whole national electricity market have been very much a mixed success, a mixed sort of outcome. For many decades Victoria had a very secure, cheap and reliable energy supply. We understand the issues with carbon dioxide emissions. We understand the fact that internationally a transition is happening. But the complex regulatory environment that has been created has actually not worked to Victoria’s benefit.

I say that at the end of the day the Victorian government is responsible for ensuring reliable energy supplies in Victoria. The Victorian government is the one that has failed here. We know that reliability has declined. I will have something to say about the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) report today in a moment, but it is very clear that Daniel Andrews, Lily D’Ambrosio and Labor have been in government for nine years now and the risks and problems of the energy market are almost entirely on their head. They should have taken the steps necessary to guarantee security of supply. They should have been taking the steps to make sure that the lights remain on, and the truth of the matter is they have not been.

I accept that there is confusion and that there are problems with the mixed regulatory environment that we face. I accept that the Commonwealth, of all colours, has not always been helpful in these matters, and I accept that other jurisdictions have complicated the matter significantly. However, at the end of the day, it is our government in Victoria. It is Daniel Andrews, who has been in power for nine years, Lily D’Ambrosio as the energy minister and all of the cabinet that is responsible for making the decisions and ensuring that our energy supply is not only transitioned in a useful way but that this is done in a way that is safe and a way that ensures reliability is there, and also that the price is not extreme. The surge in prices in the last three or four years has been absolutely slugging Victorians, absolutely slugging small businesses, absolutely slugging families, and that is directly the responsibility of Daniel Andrews and his government. They have been in power for nine years and they have allowed these price surges to occur. Daniel Andrews, Lily D’Ambrosio and the Labor cabinet in Victoria have to take full responsibility for the failures of energy policy, for the increased prices.

Now, I support the $250 rebate on energy, but that is just a very small part of the surge in energy costs faced by small businesses and families. That is a very small part. I paid my bill the other day, and it was $1490 – a huge bill, and that is one of the results of the surge in energy costs. And I am just very typical of so many Victorians –

John Berger: How many houses?

David DAVIS: I have one house in the city and one on the coast. I have two. I do not have a great number of houses, as many Labor MPs do.

John Berger: I thought there might have been a couple of houses.

David DAVIS: No. That is one house for one quarter, and that is a significant cost. And I am not alone in this; I am not meaning me to be particularly exceptional on this. I think what I am saying is that in fact everyone is facing significant increases in cost, and the persons that are responsible for this are Daniel Andrews, Lily D’Ambrosio and the Labor cabinet who have been in power for nine years. Labor has been in power now for 20 of the last 24 years, including the last nine years, so these massive surges in energy costs are entirely their responsibility. It is Labor that has allowed these energy costs to surge, Labor that has failed to put in place proper outcomes, Labor that has failed to plan for the future, Labor under Daniel Andrews and Lily D’Ambrosio that have clobbered, absolutely smashed, families with these huge energy costs, and businesses are suffering too.

It is difficult for some Labor MPs to understand, but their government has been in power for 20 of the last 24 years. Daniel Andrews has been in power for the last nine years, Lily D’Ambrosio has been in power. They are responsible for the energy settings in our state. It is them who have put it in place, it is them who are responsible for the high energy costs, it is them who are responsible for the unreliability of supply and the risks that we have seen today, and I will come to today’s report in a moment.

The claim is that this bill will improve the functioning of Victoria’s wholesale gas market by enabling regulations to be made to increase the maximum civil penalties. The change is designed to provide additional flexibility to the Australian Energy Regulator and the courts in determining appropriate response to instances of non-compliance and to help ensure civil penalties issued reflect the severity of conduct and act as a deterrent. It ensures the compliance and enforcement regime is, as it is described, fit for purpose. The bill sets out to update several outdated references. This is housekeeping to some extent. We certainly as an opposition – I pay tribute to the work of David Hodgett as the shadow – consulted a large range of stakeholders. Broadly there is support for the bill.

There is already a program for AEMO to make an update, the reliability forecast – and I will say something about that in a moment – which is designed to inform the market of gaps between energy supply and demand and signal potential investment opportunities, and that is certainly what the report does, which we will refer to in a moment. The National Electricity Law was recently amended to enable jurisdictional energy ministers to trigger the retailer reliability obligation, and if a Victorian energy minister has the power to trigger the RRO, it is reasonable to place some of the decision-making criteria around this in legislation to ensure consultation occurs and appropriate standards are in place.

There are some real issues here about the role of these distant regulatory authorities. AEMO is a body that is out there that is responsible to energy ministers in nine jurisdictions – I think that is the number; I need to check that, but all on the east coast are certainly involved, as is the national government – so you have got a significant issue with the governance of AEMO and its responsiveness and a significant issue with the ability to clearly and cleanly see the responsibility. The important point I am trying to make today is that at the end of the day Daniel Andrews, Lily D’Ambrosio and the Labor government here have been in power for nine years and it is their responsibility and their failure to get Victoria into a good position with this bill.

I want to talk now to the report that we have just tabled in the chamber. I am going to give you the precise title of it: the 2023 Electricity Statement of Opportunities, August 2023 –

Tom McIntosh interjected.

David DAVIS: That is what I said: the Electricity Statement of Opportunities, a 10-year reliability outlook for the national electricity market, including the 2023 energy adequacy assessment projection.

Tom McIntosh: It is a 10-year outlook, Mr Davis.

David DAVIS: The 10-year outlook, as I quietly read. I am going to read from the executive summary here because I think it is important:

The Electricity Statement of Opportunities … provides technical and market data for the National Electricity Market … over a 10-year period … It serves to advise on the additional development needs required to maintain reliability in the NEM.

When we look at the report in this 2023 assessment, it looks at risks coming up, and it says:

… Australia’s NEM is perched on the edge of one of the largest transformations … The scale of opportunity to meet an imminent and growing need for firm capacity, new forms of energy production, and significant consumer energy investments is unparalleled in Australia’s energy history.

All of that is true. But it does say they are worried about Victoria:

… this coming summer and over the entire ESOO horizon against the IRM, and from 2026–27 against the reliability standard.

That is the quote. They go further to make some very sharp remarks about Victoria. I will read the general lead-in here because I think this is important to understand what we face as a community:

While generation, storage and transmission developments continue to connect to the power system, the assessment shows these committed and anticipated developments (generation, transmission and other solutions) are not yet sufficient to offset the forecast impact of higher electricity use and advised generator retirements. Delays to any other currently considered development may further worsen the reliability outlook.

The forecast reliability gaps in the first five years of the horizon, in the Central scenario when considering only those developments that meet AEMO’s commitment criteria, are in:

• Victoria in 2023–24 … forecast reliability gaps identified at the start of the horizon did not feature in the Update to 2022 … but have arisen due to a combination of factors, including an increase in the probability of coincident low wind, and high demand conditions, higher unplanned outage rates, withdrawn gas capacity –

this is on page 9 of the report –

reduced CER orchestration, and the modelled derating of short duration storages

Read closely, you should understand that that points to significant risk for Victoria. In Victoria it goes further. It talks about the forecast reliability gaps identified in 2026–27 being aligned with the retirement of a South Australian power plant and being larger than those identified in the 2022 report. It says this is:

… due to a combination of factors, including an increase in the probability of coincident low wind, and high demand conditions, higher unplanned outage rates, withdrawn gas capacity, reduced CER orchestration, and the modelled derating of short duration storages.

These are very significant warnings to Victoria that we are facing summers ahead which could be hot and dry, summers that actually may well not have sufficient energy available.

Tom McIntosh: Climate change is making that worse.

David DAVIS: I am not denying climate change. I have never, ever. You will never find a statement on record of me denying climate change ever. My point is that your government has been in power for 20 of the last 24 years and that Labor has been in power for the last nine years. We are in this position due to their failure to take the actions necessary to give us secure energy supplies. It is Labor’s fault, it is Daniel Andrews’s fault and it is Lily D’Ambrosio’s fault. It is the Labor cabinet over the last nine years that have failed to put us in a position where we can bank on security –

Tom McIntosh: What would you do?

David DAVIS: Well, we would have done things very differently, actually, over the last nine years. What I am going to do here is point to the risks into the future and indicate that there is –

Tom McIntosh: Do you have plans to omit those risks?

David DAVIS: We would take steps to deal with that. One of them is we would have planned better from the start.

Tom McIntosh: What is your plan?

David DAVIS: I will tell you what we would –

Tom McIntosh: In government?

David DAVIS: In government we would have actually had generation capacity in place to deal with this. It might have been a mix of generation, and I think that is right. There would have been some gas firming in place.

Tom McIntosh interjected.

David DAVIS: Well, we are not in government; we have not been in government for the last nine years. It is your government that has been in power and your government that has failed to put that firming capacity in there. You have not put enough firming capacity in. The report is saying there is not enough firming capacity, and that is your government’s fault. You have been there for nine years, and your government has failed to put the firming capacity in place. And when the lights go out in summer, your government will bear 100 per cent of the responsibility for its failure.

Tom McIntosh interjected.

David DAVIS: I tell you what, there is not necessarily sufficient –

Tom McIntosh: Have you read the report, Mr Davis? Have you read the full report?

David DAVIS: I have not read all of the report, but I have read much of the report. You may not have read all of the report either. What is clear is that there are very significant risks, and your government is the government that has failed to take the actions necessary to give us the security that is necessary.

Tom McIntosh: You couldn’t answer what you would do if you ever got your chance in government.

David DAVIS: I could. I have told you that we would have better firming capacity in place. That is what we would have done – partly gas, but partly other things.

Tom McIntosh interjected.

David DAVIS: I am telling you. You have asked, and I have told you. I am happy to engage.

Trung Luu: On a point of order, Acting President, I understand this is a contribution by Mr Davis, not a debate. I could be wrong.

The ACTING PRESIDENT (Sonja Terpstra): I think the interjections need to be calmed down a little bit.

David DAVIS: I will not take up the opportunity of the interjections.

The ACTING PRESIDENT (Sonja Terpstra): That might be helpful.

David DAVIS: All right. I will seek to avoid taking up the opportunities of the interjections.

My central point is that the report today points to huge risks for the state – huge risks in the immediate term, significant risks into the long term – and this state government is not doing enough and has not done enough to put us in the position to have the security that we need. That is the key point. It is the state government’s responsibility – the primary responsibility. It is Daniel Andrews’s responsibility. It is the energy minister’s responsibility.

I want to say something about the more general issue of these quangos at a national level. I am increasingly uneasy about their presence. This was true when I was health minister and it is also true in this energy sector. Where there is mixed responsibility, often the responsibility becomes less sharp and less clear for the particular jurisdiction. I think that that leads to ministers and departments focusing less sharply than they ought to on the actual outcomes.

On the regulations that are made, from recently talking to other jurisdictions, particularly in Britain, there is increasing concern across the Westminster world about not just the regulations that are made in the normal way but the regulatory and decision-making steps made by distant or third-party bodies that are in effect regulations. We have got to look more closely as a Parliament at how we work to scrutinise these decisions, to bring them to the Parliament so that they can be examined and we can see which are in the interests of our community and which are not. We need to look at ways to, in many cases, improve them. I make that as a more general point, but today AEMO has changed its advice from last year’s and it has pointed to real risks both in the medium and longer term, but particularly in the short term for Victoria.

I want today to make no bones about it: Daniel Andrews and his government, the Labor government in Victoria, with Lily D’Ambrosio as the minister, are responsible for making sure that the lights stay on, making sure that industry is able to keep working and jobs continue to go forward and making sure that families are able to get the electricity that they need when they need it. We understand that energy policy is complex. We understand that there is no easy answer in all of this, but this government has been in power for nine years. It has pushed forward. It pushed – let us be quite clear – for the early closure of a coal-fired power plant and left the state without the firming capacity that is necessary. Some of this has been adventurism on the part of this government and the policy of this government. They have been leaping into a direction without having the backup power that is necessary to ensure consistency and security of supply, and that is a risk to Victorians, to their health, to their comfort and to Victorian business.

If the lights go out, the damage that is done will be Daniel Andrews’s fault, let us just be clear, and the fault of his cabinet, the Labor cabinet, over the last nine years. Nine years is not a short period of time. It is a long period of time where they could have put in place a whole series of measures that would have assisted, and they did not. They have not, and the risks are now laid out in the AEMO report very clearly. I urge people to spend the time reading it. It was released this morning. I tabled it this morning because I think every member in the chamber should spend time over the next break period reading it and understanding the risks that we encounter as we go into the summer period ahead and the period going forward from that. It is an important wake-up call. The fact is Daniel Andrews and his government have got to be held accountable for their errors.

Tom McINTOSH (Eastern Victoria) (10:43): I am very proud to stand today to support the omnibus Energy Legislation Amendment Bill 2023. Mr Davis has made a lot of comments and I will return to all those in due course throughout my contribution, but first of all I want to get on and talk about the important changes that are being made with this legislation to ensure that we have sufficient generation of supply to meet our electricity needs. The RRO, the retailer reliability obligation, is a bit of a mouthful but it is incredibly important, because what we are enabling is the minister to compel retailers to lock in contracts with generators to ensure that we have the supply that is needed in our state.

We are also ensuring, in doing this, that this minister and future ministers through this legislation will communicate this and will engage with the Premier, the Treasurer and the Australian Energy Market Operator when we have a situation where retailers or large consumers of energy – very, very big consumers of energy who make their own energy contracts – are not meeting future demand. Mr Davis talked about the AEMO report that was released yesterday. It does give important time frames. It gives the 10-year forecast for energy demand. So if we see at that three-year-and-three-month point that there is a gap between that demand element and the future electricity that the retailers are contracting in, it provides that trigger to say that that retailer or large consumer must go out and source that energy. It is ensuring that we are meeting the projected demand with the supply and ensuring those contractual agreements are in place.

It was ironic, hilarious – whatever you want to call it – when those opposite moved a motion yesterday asking for a commonsense plan. Mr Davis here was talking. I asked them what their plan is, and we will come back to that shortly. We are here on a piece of legislation showing the plan to ensure supply at a time when Victoria’s energy generation has grown year on year for four years in a row. We are exporting more electricity than we need. We have a surplus year on year. I spoke in the chamber here yesterday about the fact that 36.5 per cent of Victoria’s electricity is coming from renewable generation.

I think the fact that we are here with this legislation and with other pieces of legislation – we have got a lot of legislation this year in the energy space – shows that we are identifying the problem of removing emissions from our climate as we have a changing climate that we need to address, which I will come back to shortly too, because that does create bigger issues for us in summer when we are trying to provide electricity for our grid, particularly cooling during heatwaves. We are putting this legislation forward alongside other legislation that is ensuring this century’s energy needs and this century’s requirements of governments to provide electricity into the grid and to ensure we have the workers, to ensure workers are safe, to ensure communities are safe and to ensure we have clean, affordable power. This bill is just another example of this government stepping up to the plate in the leadership vacuum that has been in this country for much of the last decade and delivering on that.

On the AEMO report, I find it very interesting that Mr Davis has tabled that this morning. I challenged him in his contribution whether he had read the whole report, and he has not.

Members interjecting.

Tom McINTOSH: Well, you notice. I hope we get the opportunity to keep getting up and talking about this, because I am very proud of the action that we have taken on this side. Mr Davis talked about a plan. He kept coming to the fact that ‘We need a plan’ and that they would have done things differently. So I took the opportunity to ask Mr Davis, ‘What would you do?’ ‘We’d have more firming supply.’ ‘Okay, well, what sort of firming supply, Mr Davis?’ ‘Gas.’ ‘Okay, gas will be part of it. We already have gas, Mr Davis. What else would you do?’ ‘Oh, I don’t know. I don’t know.’

I mentioned yesterday that around the country energy policy is driven by the National Party, so I actually feel a little bit of sympathy for the Liberal Party trying to get up and talk about energy policy, because they have stepped back from that. Even though energy policy is absolutely critical to the economic success of our state and our nation, they have stepped back and they have said, ‘We’ll leave this for the Nationals,’ who, as I pointed out in my last contribution, had 22 energy policies in their nine years in federal government. I noticed that one of the Nationals state members here said it was the status quo for me to point out the fact that the federal coalition, the National Party and the Liberals somewhere there in the mix as well, had no substantive, cohesive position on energy. She said it was the status quo that I talk about the Nationals in federal power, and here we are. Mr Davis himself was talking about the grid and how it covers many states. We are talking about a national electricity system ‍– or at least the east coast, as he pointed out – yet Ms Bath wanted to distance herself from her federal colleagues.

I tell you what, I will stand here and I will stand beside my Labor federal colleagues because I believe in principle in what we are doing. We are dealing with climate change, we are supporting workers and we are ensuring that Australians at the federal level and Victorians here have access to clean, affordable power, and that is why I am proud to stand alongside my colleagues – because it is a matter of principle, it is a matter of action, and those opposite do not have any principles other than to try and muddy the waters as much as they can. For the last 20-plus years we have known we needed to act on climate change, but they do not want to do it. Every single step of the way they want to slow down progress. Again, every year that we are delayed in action on climate change the problem actually becomes far, far worse. Again, it is like they are praying. As they like to be referred to, His Majesty’s opposition are praying for a blackout. They want a terrible summer, and we know summers are getting worse and worse and worse due to climate change.

We will admit that it is a big pressure that is put on our energy system. We have got residents of our state in their homes needing to stay cool during hotter and hotter summers, and we saw what happened in Europe in their summer this year, with catastrophic fires and catastrophic temperature surges, where people were dying in their homes. It is beyond belief that those opposite are not wanting to take action on climate change when we know that the results are worse and worse for humanity every year, not to mention all the other species on the planet. We have got this continual stopping of our progress, which makes the issue worse and worse.

I wanted to speak to the report that Mr Davis actually did incorrectly reference, the electricity system statement of opportunities. That 10-year report is very important. It helps us look at the market and plan, which as I said, federally did not occur for 10 years, but now we are in a position where all the mainland is Labor and we can get on with that. Coming back to what this bill here does today, it allows us to identify the gaps and to ensure we fill those gaps with supply – with clean supply.

I have talked about how climate change is exacerbating the problem. One of the other issues we have is our coal generators. I was at Yallourn power station. There is a $400 million investment being made to upgrade that thermal coal generator to ensure that it does get to its end of life, that it does get to the period for which we need it to operate, because again, this is a massive transformational piece – to switch our electricity system over. There is no denying that, and that is why we are up to the challenge and that is why we are bringing a plan. Again, like climate change with increased heat, the reliability of our coal generators is also an issue, and that is also in the report. But what is also in the report, if Mr Davis had read it all, is the fact that AEMO state that they have sufficient reserves to cover that shortfall. We have to acknowledge all the risks. We have to acknowledge all the complexities. We have to acknowledge how important it is to ensure that Victorian households – and I have talked about the health particularly of our elderly and vulnerable – and our businesses have electricity so our state can function and can function productively and be the economic powerhouse that our electricity system has enabled it to be for the last century, now and into the future.

We have got these pressures coming on. As AEMO stated in their own report, there are sufficient reserves. I hope that Mr Davis and those opposite read the full report. I notice that they have tabled it. I look forward to debating it if it does come back. But again, in my last contribution I asked and I keep asking: can the opposition provide the people of Victoria with something that resembles a plan – and probably on any of their policy areas ‍– on energy? Their plan at the last state election was to go in and rip up farms and look for gas. Over the last decade they have supported coal seam gas: ‘Let’s rip open the waterways.’ If you pollute the water below farmland, it is very, very – everything should basically come back to protecting future generations who will inhabit this planet. I grew up on a farm, and I am passionate about future generations of Victorians and Australians being able to work that farm. I tell you what, if you let coal seam gas and whatever chemicals go down into that water and back up through the land, that is not going to be productive farmland. I keep asking them for this plan. They say, ‘More gas; more firming capacity.’ As I said, we have firming capacity. I was just looking at the AEMO app. There is none required at the moment.

We do have coal; coal is in the system. We have a plan to reduce that. There is wind – I think it was 36 per cent wind feeding in and 6 per cent solar. It is there, but you do not bother to look at it. We ask you for a plan. ‘We’d do things differently.’ What would you do? ‘We’d have more firming.’ What sort of firming? What would you do? Please tell the people of Victoria, who care about climate change, who care about acting on it and who care about the future of their children and their children and their children. They care about it, so that is why we have brought a plan to people. It is offshore wind, it is our solar farms, it is our wind farms and it is the rooftop solar generated on homes, which is the cheapest electricity that you can get. It gets into people’s houses – off their roof, into their house – for 2 to 3 cents a kilowatt. It is so, so cheap, yet those opposite, federal or state, just seem to have dragged their heels on it for so, so long.

We will continue down the path to 95 per cent renewables by 2035 and to net zero emissions by 2045. We will continue doing that, and we will ensure that the cheapest forms of energy – we are in a country with the most abundant solar and wind resources in the world – our solar, our wind and our hydro, are supplying Victorians and Australians in this interconnected grid that we have with affordable power that ensures our collective prosperity, our collective future and the future of our children and our grandchildren. I just hope that those opposite can see something that should not be political by nature. There should be a broad agreement that we need to get to net zero emissions as quickly as possible, and then we can debate the path there and we can debate sensible ideas – not nuclear, which is going to cost eight times as much. The community do not want nuclear.

Georgie Crozier: Oh, really? It’s cleaner. You won’t even have the debate – that’s your problem.

Tom McINTOSH: I am happy to debate nuclear. Nuclear does make sense in certain places in the world where there is not the most abundant –

Georgie Crozier interjected.

Tom McINTOSH: Where would you like nuclear, Ms Crozier? I think we are going to debate this later today. I have got 12 seconds left, so we will come back to this. I am very proud of Minister D’Ambrosio and this government’s work on energy to provide clean, affordable energy for Victorians now and into the rest of this century.

Adem SOMYUREK (Northern Metropolitan) (10:58): I rise to support what I thought was a non-controversial bill. I rise to make a brief contribution in support of the Energy Legislation Amendment Bill 2023, which seeks to modernise and enhance Victoria’s antiquated energy safety compliance framework. The rapid expansion of renewable energy and storage technologies has revealed significant flaws in Victoria’s energy safety laws. The current laws are based on the 1990s risk assessments, hence they overlook the rise in small-scale renewables and battery systems. Energy is not just a commodity. It is that, but it is also an essential service that powers our homes, our industry and all of our lives. Therefore the government has a responsibility to ensure that it puts in place a robust regulatory framework so that every Victorian can trust the energy they use. When I say ‘trust’, I mean that they trust that their energy is safe, reliable and sustainable. I promised to make a brief contribution, and I think I have fulfilled my commitments. With that, I commend the bill to the house.

Georgie CROZIER (Southern Metropolitan) (11:00): I am pleased to be able to rise to speak to the Energy Legislation Amendment Bill 2023. It is a timely debate we are having considering the release of the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) report today, the 2023 Electricity Statement of Opportunities. This report goes to, as it states, ‘a 10-year reliability outlook for the national electricity market’. What is so concerning about this report today is that Victoria is in actual fact the worst jurisdiction in Australia for energy security.

Every Victorian is very concerned about energy reliability but also energy costs. Energy costs under the Andrews Labor government have skyrocketed and under the Albanese government they have skyrocketed. Despite their offering a couple of hundred dollars here or there to help with cost-of-living pressures and their promises to bring down energy prices, they have meant nothing. Energy prices are out of control, and they are hurting everyday Victorians. Businesses, households, big industry – everyone is hurting because of the policy decisions of this government, and that is a fact. You cannot deny that energy prices are rising as people get their electricity bills, especially over these winter months. It has been exceptionally cold in some parts, and there have been stories that people have not been able to afford to put on their heating, so they have gone to bed early. It is particularly the elderly and the vulnerable that are suffering because of this. This is a basic requirement of a modern-day economy, but we do not even have the basic right of cheap energy. That is a direct result of government policy.

If you look at the government’s policy and their target of net zero, they must do this sensibly. That is what we argue. If you are going to transition to that target, then do it sensibly. What is this government doing? It is shutting down gas supply to new households in just a few months time. What an absolutely ludicrous policy decision made by Lily D’Ambrosio and Daniel Andrews. I mean, they are peas in a pod coming from the Socialist Left. This takes a really blunt instrument to any new home owner who wants to have choice and wants to have energy security, because we know that there is not that reliability in the system. This report states it. It states that there is not the reliability in the system and Victoria is the worst in the country in terms of reliability.

All of those people who are passionate about climate change – I do not have a problem with that. The climate is changing. It always has and it will continue to do so. There is no argument in that. Using your natural resources is completely fine. I grew up on a farm and we had solar panels on our house, which was sensible, back in the early 1990s and late 80s when they first came out. But you cannot do it across the board in a modern-day economy when you have got a massive population increase, when you have got industry requiring energy, when costs are going through the roof. It is killing the economy as well as being unreasonable to households and small business.

I was speaking to my drycleaner a few months ago. She said to me, ‘Georgie, what are we going to do? Our electricity bill was $4000 a month this time last year. It’s now $8000. We can’t pass those costs on to the customers, because they will complain, so we’re working harder.’ She and her husband work so hard. That is a business that so many Victorians appreciate and need in terms of getting about their daily business. That is what they want to provide, yet they are being absolutely smashed because of high energy prices. We are talking about energy and talking about transition, and the government say they think they have got all the answers. But their answers are hurting people. They are actually hurting people, and people are seeing it, because of those energy bills that are coming in. Those small businesses, like the one I have referred to, are seeing their energy bills coming in. The business has to make a decision: ‘Do we continue, or do we shut our doors and go and do something else?’ Therefore the customer loses out, and our society and our community lose out when you have a shutdown of business because they cannot operate, because it is too expensive. That is happening across the board in Victoria. It is a sign of the times to come when we have got a government that is running a debt of close to $226 billion. How do we pay for that? How do households pay for that? How do small businesses pay for that, when they are copping in the neck these higher energy prices?

Government have a responsibility here, and they have failed every Victorian household and every small business. In fact every business, every one, they have failed. They have failed because of their ludicrous decisions to ban gas and not even understand how there is that resource that can be used and the technology that is available. Their issue is just close down, smash everything up and let us just hope for the best. Well, the headline says it all: ‘The crisis summer in blackout state’. It is coming. That is what they are warning, the so-called experts. You tell us to listen to the experts; well, the experts are saying it is coming. And Victoria, in this very report, is the one that is faring the worst.

I digress, because I think it is an important debate that we need to have to get those issues out there. But this bill talks about the retail reliability obligation framework established under the National Electricity Law; it is an important part. That is why I mentioned in my preamble that reliability, because the reliability is not going to be there. This report says so. This bill introduces Victorian-specific decision-making criteria and consultation safeguards to be used in the event the Victorian minister needs to trigger the RRO – that is the retail reliability obligation framework – in response to an emerging risk of significant electricity disruption. Well, again I say this minister – who would have to be one of the worst energy ministers, and goodness knows there are so many question marks already over her undertaking with her own branch members; she says she does not have anything to do with that, and nobody believes that in a pink fit – gives Victorians no choice, just demands that what is happening is the right way. Well, I do not have significant confidence in the minister having that responsibility, quite frankly. But nevertheless, this is what this bill does. I think it is important to know that that RRO will be made in consultation with the Australian Energy Regulator and the Australian Energy Market Operator, as well as the Treasurer and the Premier.

While the Treasurer, the Premier and the energy minister do have significant power in this regard, they are acting on behalf of every Victorian when there is a disruption of supply. It is important that that consultation is undertaken and not used for political purposes, like what has been done, because it is Victorians that are suffering because of those political decisions made in this area and previously. We need to have improvement in the functioning of Victoria’s wholesale gas market by enabling those regulations to be made to increase the maximum civil penalties payable for those that do not comply. But we also need – and that is what this bill will do – to make sure that that gas market and supply is there.

The bill also goes to updating several outdated references to the Essential Services Commission gas distribution system code in the National Gas (Victoria) Act 2008, and that will obviously go some way to helping to interpret things. But nevertheless, this is an important debate that we are having because of the issues that Victoria is facing. We want reliability, we want consultation and we want the government of the day to be acting in the best interests of Victorians and have that consultation and work with those national partners to ensure that reliability of energy is provided to Victoria. That is what this bill is supposed to do, and I hope it does. This is going to the government’s aim of getting to net zero by 2045. It seems like a long way away, but in real terms it is not terribly far away in terms of these complex market issues. If you look at the changes that are happening around the world with the renewable energy market, I think there are changes in other parts of the world that Victoria and Australia cannot ignore and should not ignore. We really need to be looking at that and understanding what is going on there.

Obviously I have not had a chance to read this report, since it was just tabled about an hour ago, but I think there are some important elements in it. But what is very concerning is the fact that Victoria is at risk of blackouts and of power shortages, and that will impact our vulnerable, it will impact households, it will impact mum-and-dad households and it will impact businesses when those power outages occur. Let us hope they do not happen. I grew up, as I said, on a farm. Power outages happened before the transmission lines were put in place, so we would have power outages the whole time, crank up the diesel generator, get the gas stove going and have baked beans on toast if we were lucky. They were the basics that we had to go to. But that was a long time ago. You look in dismay, but it happened.

Ingrid Stitt: Oh, I remember it well. I had a three-week-old baby.

Georgie CROZIER: Well, you see? That is not so long ago. I am talking even further back than that. But we do not want to get to that point where we are having those blackouts. That is the point. We want a sophisticated, modern economy and community where we can have reliable energy sources and, yes, use those natural resources through the renewables that are there. But we cannot be so blind to the fact that they are not there, because of the lack of infrastructure in transmission, and they are not going to be supported for many, many years to come. That is the critical point here. So we need to be realistic about what can be achieved and what can be done. But I think, again, what is happening here is very concerning around the warnings in this report that say that Victoria is worst placed anywhere in the nation for widespread and regular blackouts.

Jacinta ERMACORA (Western Victoria) (11:12): I am pleased today to speak on the Energy Legislation Amendment Bill 2023, a very important bill that will strengthen the electricity and gas regulatory framework. The government has been committed to delivering the transition to net zero emissions by 2045. Of course as a proactive government we recognise that this transition period requires a reliable supply of energy to Victorians. The government is committed to ensuring that Victorians are receiving better outcomes from energy retailers by enhancing protections and giving more certainty to consumers. This bill is an omnibus bill that does several things. It will amend the National Electricity (Victoria) Act 2005 to solidify the retailer reliability obligation framework, it will improve the operation of the wholesale gas market, it will enable an increase of the maximum civil penalties for contravention of the rules and it will improve interpretation of the National Gas (Victoria) Act 2008 by updating several outdated references to the gas distribution system code.

The amendments will strengthen energy security for Victorians by ensuring that in the event of market failure there are steps the government can take to protect security of supply. The key purpose of the amendments to the National Electricity (Victoria) Act 2005 is to align it with national energy reforms by empowering the efficient regulation of electricity generation, transmission and distribution. It establishes the framework for reliable energy supply, promoting competition and facilitating market mechanisms such as the regulatory powers of the Essential Services Commission to oversee pricing, licensing and compliance in the electricity sector. The act will be amended to introduce decision-making criteria which are Victoria specific for the Minister for Energy and Resources to consider when creating a T-3 reliability instrument under the National Electricity Law, triggering a retailer reliability obligation in response to growing potential for a substantial electricity supply interruption. Once triggered, a retailer reliability obligation mandates electricity retailers to secure a minimum level of electricity generation capacity to ensure reliable supply to consumers, enhancing grid stability and preventing disruptions. It also imposes obligations on electricity retailers and major consumers to establish agreements with electricity producers in anticipation of projected supply shortages occurring in a three or more year period.

This approach stimulates proactive contracting, a crucial driver for attracting essential new investments in power generation within that time frame. Ultimately this mechanism encourages retailers to contribute to grid reliability by contracting sufficient energy resources, enhancing overall system reliability. The minister must make the decision in consultation with the Australian Energy Regulator and the Australian Energy Market Operator as well as the Treasurer and the Premier. The purpose of the consultation requirement is to ensure the decision is informed by the most up-to-date information regarding the energy sector and the broader economy. This follows a recent decision by the federal Labor government to amend the national energy laws to enable ministers to trigger the retailer reliability obligation without AEMO forecasting a shortfall, with the intention of this being a stopgap measure while a fit-for-purpose capacity investment scheme is developed. After all, this is about the transition.

In turning to the second limb of the bill, the National Gas (Victoria) Act 2008 will also see amendments to its respective rules, the national gas rules. Similar to its electricity counterpart, the National Gas (Victoria) Act 2008 provides the legislative framework that governs the gas industry, for establishing regulations for safe and efficient gas supply, transportation and distribution. The act empowers the Essential Services Commission to oversee market activities, pricing and licensing, ensuring consumer protection and fair competition. It promotes reliable gas supply mechanisms while also addressing environmental and safety standards and aligning Victoria’s gas industry practices with national energy policies.

The proposed amendments aim to enhance the operational efficiency of Victoria’s wholesale gas market. This will be achieved through increasing the upper limits of civil penalties imposed on distributors found to be in violation of market regulations. This will be achieved through empowering the minister to prescribe civil penalty provisions in the national gas rules specific to Victoria’s declared wholesale gas market, with penalties equivalent to civil penalties under the national gas laws. This bill does not propose to introduce any new civil penalties. This grants increased flexibility to both the Australian Energy Regulator and the legal system, allowing them to respond effectively to contraventions and ensuring that penalties appropriately mirror the severity of the offence in order to deter other providers from non-compliance. This aims to optimise the compliance framework, fostering improved consumer outcomes and harmonising penalty levels with those observed in other wholesale gas markets along the eastern coast. At present our maximum civil penalties are lower than those on the rest of the eastern coast because of amendments made to the national framework in 2020, and this bill aims to correct this misalignment.

The smallest amendment – yet it is a highly important amendment – in this omnibus bill updates several outdated references to the gas distribution system code in the National Gas (Victoria) Act 2008. The Gas Distribution System Code of Practice outlines the basic rules for running and using the gas distribution system by covering how the system operates, connecting and expanding the system, disconnecting and reconnecting, installing meters and testing them, reading data, managing energy limits, resolving customer issues and meeting distribution contract rules. As you can see, there is an awful lot to keeping the power on in this state. This amendment will help improve the accurate interpretation of the act. A specific amendment will replace, under section 42 of the act, ‘ESC Gas Distribution System Code’ with ‘ESC Gas Distribution System Code of Practice’, properly reflecting that the code is now a code of practice. This is a proactive amendment by the government to prevent any potential misinterpretation of outdated terminology, ensure clarity and certainty for industry and AEMO and ultimately protect consumers from paying too much for gas.

These amendments are another example of the Andrews Labor government putting in place policies to ensure a reliable energy market for Victorians during the state’s transition to 100 per cent renewables. We have made it clear that our next target is 65 per cent renewable electricity generation in Victoria by 2030 and then 95 per cent by 2035. This is after already meeting our 2020 renewable energy target of 25 per cent. We are already aware that enhancing reliability involves introducing fresh renewable capacity into the market. Our government’s energy strategy has achieved significant success in accomplishing precisely this. These ambitious renewable energy targets are the foundation of our energy strategy, setting a clear direction for investors to follow. The Andrews Labor government has supported the energy targets and investors with policies that promote the deployment of new renewable energy capacity, such as the bill before us today. Also the government launched and supported five projects, coming to a total of 800 megawatts of new renewable generation capacity, from the first renewable energy target auction, the largest of its type in Australia. The second Victorian renewable energy target auction will bring forward 623 megawatts of new renewable generation capacity and deliver up to 365 megawatts of new battery energy storage.

This is not to mention the $1.3 billion Solar Homes program, which is delivering renewables at the household level and has already helped over 200,000 households access rooftop solar. Rooftop solar has generated nearly five times the power generated by gas in Victoria this year, and it will only grow as the 10-year Solar Homes program continues to roll out. And how could I forget to mention that we are bringing back the SEC. The SEC is supporting Victoria’s renewable energy transition, driven by an initial investment of $1 billion towards delivering 4.5 gigawatts of renewable energy. Having publicly owned renewable energy will drive down prices and improve reliability for all Victorians. This policy structure constitutes a meticulously designed strategy aimed at shifting away from undependable coal-fired generation and moving towards more affordable renewable energy, all the while guaranteeing the uninterrupted provision of power to residences and businesses throughout the state. Since privatisation there has always been an issue with delivery of a sustainable energy market for Victorians. Lack of supply only drives up prices, which is often a barrier to market operations being motivated by supply. This is detrimental to Victorians because supply of electricity is crucial. What we do know is that renewables have been the saviours in the recent electricity crisis spurred by the breakdown of several coal-fired generators across the east coast and the war in Ukraine seeing shortfall in supply.

Our investments in renewable energy over the past eight years are responsible for wholesale power prices in Victoria being consistently the lowest in the national electricity market. In fact across the national energy market there is a very strong relationship between higher shares of renewable energy and lower wholesale prices. Victoria is still at the whim of unreliable coal-fired generation and high fossil fuel prices, but Victorians have been better protected by a reliable energy supply than the northern states, which are more dependent on coal and gas. This is why the retailer reliability obligation is in place – to incentivise additional capacity over the medium term and to ensure that supply will meet the demands of the state, not to mention it also holds retailers and large energy users to account. The retailer reliability obligation will work with longer term measures to support new capacity and shorter term measures that AEMO can utilise in the event of coal outages on peak demand days.

This bill helps smooth out the bumpy road of transition for consumers, for businesses, for the marketplace and for the economy in this state, and I cannot reiterate enough just how much our investments into renewable energy will provide a long-term future of more affordable energy but also a more secure energy supply in the long term for this state. The worst thing to do would be to do nothing, and the second worst thing to do would be to stick to fossil fuel energy production alone, which would absolutely build up the level of risk in our energy grid to an unsustainable level over time. There is no doubt that this government and the minister for energy are absolutely doing the right thing by supporting and initiating this bill.

Trung LUU (Western Metropolitan) (11:28): I rise today to make a contribution to the Energy Legislation Amendment Bill 2023, which makes amendments to the National Electricity (Victoria) Act 2005 and the National Gas (Victoria) Act 2008. My contribution to add to this is that I have great concern about the comments made this morning in relation to the minister not being able to guarantee there will not be any blackouts this coming summer. I know in the past Victoria experienced blackouts due to circumstances which were unforeseeable, but moving forward the government and organisations, in looking out for the public and Victorians, should have some clear indication in relation to the certainty of the energy supply. Victorians should have some idea that their energy and electricity will be secure in the summer coming up. As we know, we are constantly hearing about climate change and how the weather is getting hotter, and yet this government cannot guarantee there will be no blackouts. My concern is for all the elderly citizens in my constituency with the uncertainty of whether there will be blackouts.

What is more and what was brought to my attention in relation to this report this morning is that the watchdog is ranking our state as one of the worst in Australia for energy security. All these expert departments and groups have raised this issue, and yet the government cannot guarantee there will be no blackouts for our citizens. It is astounding. I am speechless that this is the case in a First World country. I remember arriving here not so long ago. Victoria once had among the cheapest gas in the world and the most excess gas in the world, yet now we are struggling with energy and concerned about blackouts. That was over 40 years ago. I do not know what is going on and how our state is going backwards so that we cannot have energy security in a First World country. It is just astounding.

I have spoken to our Shadow Minister for Energy and Resources David Hodgett in another place on various consultation he has done with stakeholders. He has actually gone through to various organisations in relation to our energy situation in Victoria. These are just some of the companies and organisations which have been spoken to, and they too have expressed some concerns in relation to our situation. I just want to name a few he spoke to: Energy Networks Australia, the Clean Energy Council, Energy Consumers Australia, Energy Grid Alliance, AGL – all these major organisations – AusNet and the Australian Energy Council. Yet the government cannot guarantee or have any certainty in relation to our energy situation coming up this summer, and that is in only a few months to come, so that is my great concern.

I understand the Australian Energy Market Operator just issued a report that was tabled this morning. I have not had a chance to read it, but I will definitely get to it in relation to how my constituents will be greatly affected, especially as mine is the most vulnerable electorate in the state with the most diverse community, and they too are wondering what is going on with this state in relation to how we are moving backwards on living standards. I know the cost of living is rising due to other circumstances, but energy and our living standards seem to be taking a backward step in a First World country.

What is more concerning is that we as a nation keep expressing concern in relation to global warming and climate change but we are not actually focusing on how we are going to address our climate situation and our energy situation to ensure that our citizens are in a situation where they can move forward knowing that there will not be any blackouts. So I hope the ministers can look into this situation more closely and take more interest in relation to the people’s welfare in our state. I am really troubled in relation to the thought of having a blackout. I have experienced that in the past, and I know many of those in this chamber have also mentioned their experiences with blackouts, but my concern is with all my elderly constituents who are vulnerable when the government cannot have any certainty moving forward with our energy situation. I do understand that we are in a phase of transitioning to more renewable resources, but we should also consider our living standards in relation to how we are going to transition from one stage to another without affecting the living standards, the conditions and the welfare of our constituents.

I just want to put in my contribution my great concern about how this state, in a First World country, cannot guarantee its own citizens that we have enough energy to make sure there are no blackouts with summer coming up only a few months away. In my past employment before I moved to government I responded to a lot of frontline emergency calls, including from elderly people going through hardship, living in a situation where the affordability of energy was an issue and the affordability of living standards was an issue. The climate itself, we know it is getting warmer, yet we have no guarantee from the minister that this state can assure citizens who require energy for air conditioning, as well as hospitals and other accommodations that look after the elderly and vulnerable people, that there will be no blackouts moving forward. On extremely hot days of summer, when vulnerable people are living in conditions which require energy to operate those air conditioners, they are in a very precarious situation which might affect their health. My concern is for constituents in my area, which has a high number of people with vulnerabilities and a high number of disadvantaged people. They have to worry about blackouts moving forward, which is something that is out of their control. That is why I am asking government to look after them. I do really hope the minister and the government can take more interest in our energy situation and our energy security and ensure that there will be no blackouts and that there will be some sort of certainty when my constituents require energy to operate those air conditioners. That is what I would like to express again in my contribution in relation to the minister’s interest in our energy situation moving forward.

Michael GALEA (South-Eastern Metropolitan) (11:38): I also rise to speak on the Energy Legislation Amendment Bill 2023. I rise to speak in favour of this bill, and I rise to speak in favour of it because this is a bill that will assist our transition in Victoria to a more sustainable, a more reliable and also a more equitable energy future. This bill does not merely address energy concerns, it serves as a framework for the state’s transition to a greener future, and these measures are in line with our international obligations and our pledges to address climate change. It is a step that will affect every citizen and industry and the very future of this state, and it is a step that will change this state in profoundly positive ways as well.

The Energy Legislation Amendment Bill 2023 is a key legislative backbone of our broader energy transition plan, and this of course has been years in the making. The plan has been developed through extensive consultation with a wide variety of stakeholders, experts, policymakers and the like, all with the aim of reducing our overall greenhouse gas emissions, improving our energy security and also fostering our sustained and continued economic growth, now and well into the future. This bill sets out something of a financial outline that seeks a balanced investment from both the public and the private sectors. It proposes an estimated allocation of $10 billion over the next five years, which will be directed towards upgrading existing energy infrastructure, investing in renewable energy projects and financing innovative technologies that will make energy production in this state more sustainable. What a good thing that is. I hope those opposite will agree with me that a more sustainable, stronger and more robust energy network can only be a good thing. I am sure that members of His Majesty’s most loyal opposition will bring their support to the table; I certainly hope they do.

Furthermore, the bill will amend several laws, making them more compatible with energy transition objectives overall. This includes changes to regulations that govern the use of our renewable resources, modifications to grid management and revisions of standards for energy consumption across many different sectors. By providing the legal and the financial framework that is necessary, this bill will enable a more sustainable and a more secure energy future for our state. This energy future will derive from the larger energy transition plan, which will aim to shift to renewable energy, enhance energy security and create, as I say, those sustainable and long-lasting economic opportunities for all Victorians.

A pivotal aspect of this bill, the Energy Legislation Amendment Bill 2023, is the transformative amendments to the existing legal framework. For instance, the bill recommends changes to the Victorian Renewable Energy Act 2006 to encourage greater use of wind and solar as well as hydro-electric power. It amends the national electricity market regulations to facilitate better grid management and improve the efficiency and the reliability of our energy supplies. One example of these measures is the bill facilitates the establishment of microgrids in rural and isolated communities. These microgrids can operate independently of the national grid, thereby improving our overall resilience and our energy accessibility to these areas whilst reducing their dependence on fossil fuels. Another significant change is the energy efficiency standards for industrial sectors, which are aimed at reducing the overall carbon footprint of factories and encouraging more sustainable practices. Companies which meet or exceed these standards will also be eligible for tax incentives. This will facilitate a win-win situation for businesses and the environment.

These amendments are not just isolated changes. They are also part of a broader strategy to align our energy policy with the needs that we face in the 21st century. By making these changes the bill aims to create an integrated, efficient and sustainable energy system that is robust enough to meet our future demands and is flexible enough to adapt to technological advancements as they progress. One does not have to look far back to see what those technological advancements look like. Day by day we are seeing further and further steps. One does not have to look far to see evidence of the government’s plans and policies in this place coming into effect. Whilst some in this chamber have expressed their doubts about transitioning towards renewable energy, this is a Labor government – the Andrews Labor government – that gets on with the job of effectively building our renewable economy.

This government has successfully surpassed our 2020 renewable energy target of 25 per cent, and we are well on track to meet our revised target of 65 per cent renewable energy generation by 2030 and 95 per cent by 2035. Our $1.3 billion Solar Homes program has empowered over 200,000 Victorian households. In fact rooftop solar energy in our state has already produced nearly five times as much power as gas has this year. I did make a contribution yesterday and touched on the Solar Homes program in my speech on another perhaps fruitless attempt from the Liberal Party to distract from their lack of policy.

Jacinta Ermacora: Fruit loops.

Michael GALEA: ‘Fruit loops’ perhaps is a more accurate way of describing it, as my colleague Ms Ermacora says. Fruit loops indeed. Who knows what they are going to come up with next. Talk to a different person on that bench and you get a different policy. Talk to them on a different day and you will get a different policy, just as we saw with the now recently departed, and thank goodness for that, federal Liberal government which had, I believe, 22 different policies in this space – here we go, a new press conference, grab a new policy, off we go. But that is not how we do things here in Victoria and that is not how we do things with the Andrews Labor government. We have a clear plan, a clear strategy, that is delivering results.

The solar rooftop program has seen an investment of $540 million from the Renewable Energy Zone Fund to modernise our infrastructure and to scale up our renewable energy production. Since 2014 we have more than tripled renewable energy generation in Victoria, and I am sure those opposite will join me in celebrating that as well. Let us be clear: we have accomplished all of this in contrast to previous Liberal governments in this state, which strangled investment in renewable energy.

The Liberals must adapt. This is not a passing phase but a new norm. Those who fail to adapt will become the Kodaks of their era, outdated and irrelevant. We are part of an international movement towards renewable energy. Countries like Germany and countries like Denmark have demonstrated the social, economic and environmental gains that can be achieved. They stand, as we do as well, as living testaments to the viability of our renewable energy future. We intend to match them every step of the way, and we intend also to beat them at that.

When discussing this bill, the Energy Legislation Amendment Bill 2023, I hope members understand that this is more than just legislation. It is a critical part of the framework that is going to build our future. We are not merely recommending or advocating for change, we are already part of a change that has proven to be successful around the world. This bill is a natural and a necessary step in Victoria’s progressive renewable energy journey.

This bill, the Energy Legislation Amendment Bill 2023, offers benefits beyond just environmental conservation. For the public, the most immediate advantage will be a decrease in energy costs as a shift to renewables will reduce our reliance on expensive, costly fossil fuels. These savings will be especially beneficial for our lower income households, who spend a higher proportion of their income on energy. And it is 31 August today, so I will take this opportunity to make one last plea to all Victorians who have yet to take up the Andrews Labor government’s fourth round of the $250 power saving bonus. It is now a quarter to 12 in the morning, and you have just over 12 hours left to claim this round of the power saving bonus. 11.59 tonight is when this program ends. We have seen a phenomenal take-up of the program this year. We have seen 1.81 million Victorians voting with their feet.

Bev McArthur interjected.

Michael GALEA: I know Mrs McArthur is not a fan of it, but we have seen 1.81 million voting with their feet and saying this is good. We have also seen tens of thousands of Victorians change their energy plans, having gone through the power saving bonus process. Of course with the Victorian Energy Compare website the benefit is you do not just get the $250 to help with the cost of power bills, you also get a list of all the energy providers in your area. We have seen many, many tens of thousands of people take up those offers of a better rate as well, saving them more hundreds of dollars in the process, so it is a fantastic program. I have really enjoyed the chance, along with my colleague Mr Tarlamis, to be out in the community. As I said yesterday, we had street stalls in Berwick, we had street stalls in Rowville, and with another good colleague as well, Mr Edbrooke the member for Frankston in the other chamber, we had a huge turnout at Karingal Hub, where we had hundreds and hundreds of people – over 300 people – and $75,000 back in the pockets of working Karingal families just in one afternoon. So for those who are still a bit recalcitrant, I do say get on board. It is a good program and we have had a huge take-up from the community.

Lee Tarlamis interjected.

Michael GALEA: My colleague Mr Tarlamis has the details on his iPad. He has the website there. Mrs McArthur, I would invite you to take the opportunity. I am sure Mr Tarlamis would happily do it for you in the chamber. That might be a first: the first power saving bonus application in the chamber of the Legislative Council. I could not think of a better person to claim it than you, Mrs McArthur. Absolutely take advantage of that. For the many, many – I am sure many – people watching this at home, you do have just 12 hours left, so I strongly encourage anyone if you have not already. Of course we know 1.81 million Victorians are obviously smart enough; they have already gone and taken advantage of it. And those few left, do not leave it too late. You have got 12 hours. Claim it tonight. It is one more way in which this government is delivering the cost-of-living relief that our communities so richly need.

The Energy Legislation Amendment Bill 2023 offers other benefits beyond environmental conservation, as I say. It also will create, as I also mentioned, a win-win scenario where we will fulfil our moral and environmental obligations whilst also providing these tangible benefits to our residents, to our citizens and to our businesses as well. The transition to a cleaner, more efficient energy landscape is not just a technical necessity, it is also a social imperative. Given the market challenges that can be faced, particularly since the privatisation of the energy sector in the 1990s, the relevance of this bill could not be more critical. Over the last year an energy crisis, fuelled by many rising costs for many different reasons, has elevated costs, which have been inevitably passed down to consumers, affecting Victorian households and businesses. It is for this reason that we must stay absolutely focused on our plan for a renewable energy future, to avoid these shocks.

Renewable energy has proven to be a stabilising force amid this turbulence. Our strategic investment in this sector has made Victoria a leader in the national electricity market, boasting the lowest wholesale energy prices. There is compelling data showing that high renewable energy contributions are inversely related to lower household prices across the NEM. Victoria is not immune to vulnerabilities tied to fossil fuels, nor is the market to international conflicts. A proactive approach to renewables has granted us a certain level of protection, far more than states that are still overwhelmingly dependent on coal and gas – states that are still in a position that those opposite would rather have us in. By passing this bill, we will build on this strong foundation and we will set ourselves on the path of energy stability, environmental responsibility and economic growth.

The technological impacts of this bill are immense. They are also exciting, so I do say again to colleagues: get on board with the power saving bonus, and get on board with this bill too. This bill goes beyond simply replacing fossil fuel based power plants; it paves the way for innovation in the energy sector. By providing incentives for research and development, we are able to usher in groundbreaking technologies like advanced solar panels and more efficient wind turbines and perhaps even harness newer forms of energy that are currently still theoretical. Moreover, this bill incentivises the adoption of smart grids and energy storage solutions.

Bev McArthur interjected.

Michael GALEA: I am sure we will eventually debate nuclear energy in this chamber, and I certainly look forward to the contributions of Mrs McArthur and Mr McGowan on that. One more shining example, a shining, bright green example, of the conflict and division within the Liberal Party; we see it again and again. I look forward to your contributions on the Nuclear Activities (Prohibitions) Repeal Bill 2023 – I hope we will get to that today; we will see where we get to with that. If you can find some time amongst your busy internal conflicts in the party room today, we look forward to seeing you in the chamber to discuss that bill. But in the meantime – in the few seconds I have left – for the reasons I have outlined, this is a bill absolutely worth supporting. This is a strong, stable step towards a responsible, renewable energy future.

Members interjecting.

Michael GALEA: They do not like me mentioning their internal conflicts, I know, but that is okay. For the reasons I have outlined, I do commend this bill to the house.

Bev McARTHUR (Western Victoria) (11:53): I rise to speak on this bill, and I just want to go to the hypocrisy of those on the other side, for a start. We have heard a lot about renewables, so just let me fill you in on a renewable project in my electorate Ms Ermacora did not speak about but she should know about. On Friday 4 August the Victorian Minister for Planning Sonya Kilkenny released an assessment of the Willatook wind farm project following the preparation of an environment effects statement and completion of a planning inquiry. Among the recommendations were widened turbine-free buffer zones for the brolga and bats, which would reduce the number of turbines and the farm’s energy output, along with a five-month moratorium on construction throughout the brolga breeding season from July through to the end of November.

Wind Prospects managing director Ben Purcell said the decision blindsided the company. This is a renewable energy company. You want to have renewable energy projects everywhere, but this is what you are doing to an energy company. He said the company was blindsided by this drastic change in direction from the minister. He said it would require 300 to 400 onsite workers to down their tools and construction equipment to sit idle for five months of each year. That clearly would render the whole project unviable. The construction of these projects generally takes two years, so this direction from the minister about a renewable energy project renders that project totally unworkable. It is not just an issue with the Willatook wind farm, it is an issue with the industry more broadly. It sets out a really dangerous precedent. So do not come in here and lecture us about renewables when you are actually making sure they cannot operate or they cannot get underway.

The Minister’s assessment includes recommendations that go well beyond existing guidelines (in the case of brolga) and other topics that were not raised throughout our engagement with government or the subsequent panel inquiry (such as the construction moratorium) …

That is Mr Purcell from a renewable energy company. He said:

This represents an issue not only for Wind Prospect, but for all every proponent of any infrastructure project navigating the planning system in Victoria.

The Clean Energy Council energy generation and storage director Nicholas Aberle said the assessment ‘set a disastrous precedent’ that ‘would jeopardise the state’s renewable energy and climate goals’. So you have been caught out for being total hypocrites on the issue of supplying renewable energy – total hypocrites. Do not come in here and lecture us and then out in the real word do another thing: stop a renewable energy project getting underway. How do you answer to that?

This state used to have the most reliable, accessible and affordable energy in the country. Australia had the most reliable, accessible and affordable energy in the world. We led the world. We have the most resources to provide energy in this country, and yet we export them but refuse to access them for the benefit of our people and the productive capacity of the enterprising people of this country and particularly this state. We need to increase the supply of energy, not restrict it. You are restricting the supply of energy in this state. You have got a one-sided approach, just like in the duck-shooting inquiry, to energy: it can only be renewables. We have abundant coal. We could convert it to the best HELE coal-fired power stations. We could use the facilities for hydrogen production. We have got abundant onshore conventional gas, which you do not want to tap into. You are banning gas in houses. You are banning woodfired heaters and facilities in houses.

A member interjected.

Bev McARTHUR: You are. In the end in this state we are going to end up having to use candles. They cannot be made of tallow, because the Animal Justice Party will not let you use tallow for candles, let me tell you. That will be done.

At the moment the big issue affecting energy in this state is a reduction in the supply, because you have got a single-minded approach to it. The second problem is the transmission, and that is killing off rural communities and the most important agriculture sector. The minister is here. She should be standing up for the farmers of rural and regional Victoria to actually make sure they can –

Tom McIntosh interjected.

Bev McARTHUR: There will be no chips left for you, mate, over there. Chips will be gone. I am into saving our spuds. We need to save our spuds. You are destroying the potato industry. Look at my lovely friends in the Greens over there. You are destroying biolinks; you are cutting a swathe through biolinks. Forty-five farmers gave up land and hundreds of thousands of trees have been planted. You are just going to cut them down. It is unbelievable. You talk about being clean and green. There is nothing clean and green about the way you are going about transmitting energy in this state. You are a disgrace; you are a pack of hypocrites. I will continue my berating after question time.

Business interrupted pursuant to standing orders.