Thursday, 31 July 2025

Energy policy

David DAVIS (Southern Metropolitan) (18:02): (1790) My matter today is for the attention of the Minister for Energy and Resources, and today we have seen the release of the 2025 Electricity Network Options Report: July 2025. And my goodness, what a shock for the community. What is clear is that there is a massive surge in costs for these projects. The VNI West project, which started at around $3 billion, is now put in by the proponent at $7.6 billion, with a minus-30 to plus-30 range. So that is up to $11.4 billion for this project. It could easily be $11.4 billion. If you look at AEMO’s estimate – $7.07 billion with a ‘plus 30 per cent’ – that is still over $11 billion. It is very likely that this project will be way, way, way over.

All of these projects are proposed by the government to be paid for by levies – by taxes, if you will – on electricity bills. This is a huge hit that is going on the electricity bills of every Victorian and every Victorian business. It is time now for the minister to start coming clean and actually saying how much each of these projects will add to the electricity bills of every Victorian. We need stuff clearly and carefully itemised on the bill. Some of these are going to push bills up massively. We know, for example, tomorrow, 1 August, electricity bills are going up right across the state. Gas bills are going up. Many are going up by 10, 12 and 14 per cent. Huge increases in electricity bills is what is happening at the moment. And these capital costs for long-distance transmission wires are actually adding huge costs.

Members interjecting.

David DAVIS: I can tell you what I would not do: I would not run an incompetent capital works program where the prices balloon out of control, where the cost overruns are massive. That is the story of this government: incompetence when it comes to capital projects, allowing the costs to balloon out. In this case the costs are being sheeted home to every single Victorian. Your bill, your bill and your bill – all are being jacked up and jacked up and jacked up. Unlike the minister who tried to say, ‘Down, down,’ actually what they are doing is going up, up, up, up, up, because of Lily D’Ambrosio’s incompetence. It is time, and my call today is that every Victorian be sent details of how much they are going to pay in their bill for these projects. There needs to be a sheet sent which comes clean on how much Lily D’Ambrosio is charging every single Victorian and every single business.