The Cost of Putting All Our Energy Eggs in One Basket

It is clear that the Albanese government’s wind and solar-only approach is not working out too well for Australia.

In four years under Labor, electricity prices have not fallen by $275 per annum as promised, but have instead risen by almost 40 per cent. While the sun and wind are free, the cost to build the infrastructure and transmit the power is anything but.

The energy mix needs to be balanced, and it must suit our nation’s growing needs: we need to be open to all technologies and invest in a way that brings prices down and ensures grid reliability. Lowering emissions where possible and logical is an aspiration I support, but we must put people before ideology. Unfortunately, the current Labor government has been closed to new ideas, demonising coal and gas while keeping the door closed to nuclear. Australia is the only advanced economy putting all its energy eggs in one basket, and the costs are rippling through the economy.

Higher electricity prices mean we pay more for goods and services, which keeps inflation high and, ultimately, interest rates as well. There is also the ‘invisible cost’ we are all paying through our taxes in the pursuit of Labor’s renewable agenda: the more the government subsidises wind and solar projects, the more tax revenue it must find or cut from other areas.

The current price tag for Labor’s Net Zero crusade is $9 trillion, or about $350,000 per Australian, which is a significant tax burden. It does not leave much left over for schools, hospitals, infrastructure, defence, or investment in sovereign capabilities.

So, my question is: if electricity prices are rising along with everything else, grid reliability is diminishing, we are paying more taxes, and we are not achieving the emissions targets, why does the government refuse to consider alternatives? The answer, I can only assume, is that they are too committed to the cause and too proud to say they have got it wrong, especially as wind and solar is not the cheapest form of energy. This government is selling a fantasy while our living standards go backwards and the price of everything keeps rising.

In Mackay, the Racecourse Mill Cogeneration Plant produces about one third of Mackay’s power, and while similar plants could be developed elsewhere, they are not on the government’s radar. The government has not investigated the viability of carbon capture technologies or other emerging green technologies developed by many advanced economies. Nuclear should also be an option, but Labor would rather try to scare people away from a zero-emission technology that is reliable and affordable.

There are 31 countries that use nuclear for power generation, including the USA, Canada, Japan, France, and the United Kingdom. Topping the world list, Australia holds 33 per cent of the world’s known uranium reserves, and yet we do not use it for power generation. Instead, we sell it to other countries.

Whether it is coal, gas, renewables, nuclear, or some other form of power generation, the primary metric for our energy policy should be the prosperity of our citizens. We must put affordability and energy security ahead of arbitrary targets. Australia needs a sensible and balanced energy mix that keeps power reliable, keeps prices down, and keeps our economy strong.

That is what Australian families deserve, and that is what I will continue fighting for.

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Contact: Amanda Wright | Media & Communications Adviser
P | 07 4944 0662   M | 0455 456 705   E | Amanda.Wright@aph.gov.au