Wednesday, 27 November 2024

 David DAVIS (Southern Metropolitan) (19:14): (1331) My matter for the adjournment tonight is for the attention of the Minister for Energy and Resources, and it is a very important issue. We are approaching summer, and we need to be sure that the energy supplies are secure and reliable for Victoria. I am seeking from the minister an assurance that Victoria will get through the summer without an interruption to supply, without businesses being asked to close or close down their energy usage and without households being deprived of energy when they need it. We have seen an example in New South Wales today: the Premier and others up there are appealing to people to turn off their power. I mean, this is not the ideal way forward, we all understand that, but after 10 years of Labor government, 10 years of Lily D’Ambrosio, 10 years of failure and 10 years of error on energy policy we are in a weaker position. Our gas supplies are not there, the electricity supplies are intermittent, and the risk is that we get one of those long bursts in summer where there is maybe some sun through much of the day of course but the wind is not there, and there is a risk, especially if there is a failure in some equipment. But even separate from that there is a significant risk that our energy supply could be interrupted, particularly into the early evening when there is no sun, and if there is no wind there will be a real problem. We need to have the minister assure the community and explain what steps she has taken to make sure that Victoria will go through this summer without any interruption to supply and with a secure energy supply right through. With the security, that means business is in a position to make sure that its activities continue uninterrupted.

We know that very hot summers also put families at risk and fragile or older people at risk. It is still the truth that the most significant death toll in Australia’s history beyond the pandemic in any recent period is the 2009 summer with the huge heat. Before the bushfires, in the week before the bushfires, there was an ambulance and hospital crisis, and 374 Victorians died – still the most significant loss from death beyond the pandemic in Victoria’s history, and that was because of the enormous heat. We need to make sure that older Victorians and vulnerable Victorians are protected with secure energy supplies, so the air conditioners must keep working and Lily D’Ambrosio needs to give that guarantee to Victorians that they will be safe and secure over summer.