Calling out the Morrison Government’s failure to commit to net zero emissions in Parliament.
Since I was elected in 2016, I have been committed to strong action on climate change. I care deeply about safeguarding our planet and our climate – I have two young children and I want to leave them a better world. I know that this is something the people of Wills deeply care about too.
The science is loud and clear.
For years scientists have been telling us that climate change will make our bushfire seasons longer and more intense. The bushfires we witnessed across our country during the last bushfire season were utterly devastating.
We need to take urgent action.
Federal Labor and I will always treat climate change with the seriousness it deserves, which is why we declared a climate emergency in the parliament in 2019.
The Liberal and National parties continue to deny the seriousness of climate change.
Unlike them, Labor and I want to see strong, urgent action on climate change, and we have a plan to do it.
A Federal Labor government will take real action on climate change with massive investments in renewable energy, as part of our Powering Australia Plan.
A Federal Labor Government will deliver real action on climate change. We will:
- Achieve 82% renewable energy and reduce emissions by 43% by 2030, seeing Australia join key trading partners like Canada, South Korea & Japan in their ambition
- Achieve net zero emissions by 2050
- Invest $24 billion to upgrade our energy grid and support renewable energy industries
- Install 400 community batteries nationally, including one in Brunswick and one in Coburg. Read more here
- Create over 600,000 jobs in clean energy industries
- Create 10,000 New Energy Apprenticeships and a New Energy Skills program
- Reduce taxes on electric vehicles to make them more affordable
- Roll out 85 solar banks across Australia
Here is our plan to deliver real action on climate change in more detail:
- Federal Labor’s Rewiring the Nation plan will invest $20 billion to modernise our electricity grid and make Australia a renewable energy superpower. Federal Labor’s plan will bring the grid up to date, allowing greater investment in renewables and creating thousands of new jobs. This commitment will encourage investment in renewable energy, create thousands of jobs and give our economy a boost of up to $40 billion. You can see me talking about this plan in Parliament here.
- $100 million to support 10,000 New Energy Apprenticeships. 3 in 4 solar companies say they have difficulty recruiting electricians because they can’t find workers with specific experience in renewables. This policy will provide $10,000 to eligible apprentices throughout their training to encourage the uptake of occupations we will need in the new energy economy. This includes sparkies, mechanics, fridgies, construction workers, and more – because the opportunities new energy presents are economy wide.
- Federal Labor will also invest $10million in a New Energy Skills Program to tailor skills training to the needs of new energy industries.
- A Federal Labor Government will introduce an Electric Car Discount – to make electric cars cheaper so that more families who want them can afford them, and to reduce emissions. Passenger cars make up nearly 10% of Australia’s CO2 emissions, yet only 0.7% of cars sold in Australia are electric, well below the global average of 4.2%. Despite growing enthusiasm for electric cars in Australia, the upfront costs are just too high. Federal Labor will change that with a $200 million investment that will reduce emissions and reduce household costs.
Federal Labor will also invest $200 million in our Power to the People plan, which will install 400 community batteries across the country. The upfront costs of battery storage mean only 1 in 60 households have battery storage – despite 1 in 5 having solar. This investment will change that for up to 100,000 Australian households by cutting power bills, cutting emissions and reducing pressure on the electricity grid.
A Federal Labor Government will also deliver two community batteries for our local community – one for Brunswick and one for Coburg. Community batteries allow households that can’t install solar – like apartment owners and renters – to draw from excess electricity stored in community batteries. This investment will allow hundreds of households in our community to utilise renewable energy and join the solar revolution. You can read more about this commitment here.
Federal Labor will also roll out 85 solar banks around Australia to ensure more households can benefit from rooftop solar, reduce the Australian Public Service’s emissions to net zero by 2030 and allocate up to $3 billion from our National Reconstruction Fund to invest in clean metals and manufacturing.
In total, Federal Labor’s Powering Australia Plan will invest $24 billion to upgrade our grid for renewables and support renewable energy industries, spurring $76 billion in investment.
As we transition to net zero emissions, we will create the jobs and boost economic opportunities that will modernise and set up our economy and for Australia to become a renewable energy superpower.
No workers or communities will be left behind.
We must do all this for our prosperity and to protect future generations from dangerous climate change that would see even worse emergencies than those we have already seen.
A Federal Labor government will also champion climate action on the global stage using our diplomatic efforts to push other big emitters to reduce their global emissions.
I know that we as a nation can meet the challenge of reaching net zero emissions.
I know that we can become a renewable energy superpower.
Only Labor can achieve real action on climate change.