Thursday, 29 May 2025

Energy policy

Bev McARTHUR (Western Victoria) (10:07): I am getting a little sick of the demonisation of gas from that little corner over there, Minister Tierney. I had the pleasure of visiting Amplitude Energy’s site at Port Campbell the other day, and I thank the team for organising a community event to let the community and everybody know, as they regularly do, the importance of gas, because without gas, Victoria stops. From powering homes and hospitals to driving our manufacturing sector and supporting regional jobs, natural gas is the unsung hero of our energy grid. I visited Amplitude Energy at Port Campbell, which is in the great electorate of Western Victoria Region. It is a world-class facility playing a critical role in keeping the lights on and our economy moving. We should know and we should all learn that gas supplies 27 per cent of Australia’s energy, supports approximately 275,000 manufacturing jobs and 91 per cent of gas powers essential feedstock and process heat. Gas must remain an essential part of our energy generation, especially when the sun does not shine and the wind does not blow, and we must allow households to have the choice of cooking with gas.