Thursday, 19 June 2025

Energy policy

David DAVIS (Southern Metropolitan) (10:23): I want to again draw the chamber’s attention to the significant statements of Mr Mark Richards, who is the secretary of the Mining and Energy Union Victoria. He has belled the cat on Labor’s chaotic and incompetent energy policy. Mr Richards said in his statement on LinkedIn yesterday that worker safety is at risk. He said Labor has pushed forward with the Yallourn power station scheduled shutdown in mid-2028. He pointed to deteriorating equipment and claimed maintenance cutbacks are ‘all driven by political pressure’. He went further and said Labor’s ‘promised offshore wind generation, new transmission networks, and … battery storage projects are just that, promises.’ Whether you agree with Mr Richards or not, he is a significant player; he is a significant union official in this sector. He went on to say:

Budget blowouts and Victorian funding cuts make it increasingly unlikely that replacement energy infrastructure will be operational before Yallourn shuts down.

That is in 2028. He said:

Energy shortfalls are inevitable if the Government does not act.

He went further and he said:

… Energy Minister D’Ambrosio needs to answer for what happens if Yallourn Power Station is needed past mid-2028 but cannot operate due to a lack of maintenance plan past the Government’s 2028 closure date.

He has made these statements in good faith, and I invite people to go and read them on his LinkedIn. I think that the government should engage with Mr Richards and actually make sure that Victoria is not left in a terrible position.