Opinion - $275 birthday - The Daily Telegraph

Melissa McIntosh MP
Shadow Minister for Energy Affordability
Shadow Minister for Western Sydney
Federal Member for Lindsay

Op-ed
The Daily Telegraph
10 December 2024

Happy birthday to the $275 power promise from hell

There is a convergence of three major issues on the energy affordability front that are having major impacts on families, small businesses and industry across Western Sydney.

The first is the three-year anniversary of the Albanese Labor Government’s biggest broken promise fed to Australians at the 2022 election – that everyone’s power bills would be $275 cheaper. This promise was made on 97 occasions. It isn’t something that Australians will forget, and nor should they forgive at the election.

Every household, small business, and manufacturer in this country knows the cost of energy has skyrocketed since Labor took office. Families in Western Sydney are now paying $1,000 more for their energy than was promised by Labor. Financial hardship recipients are up by more than 80 per cent – that’s around 560 additional households entering energy hardship each week. 

The second is that whilst energy prices are through the roof, the Australian Electricity Market Operator has warned of blackouts and instability in the energy grid. Western Sydney swelters through summer and potential blackouts will have huge health and safety impacts on our communities, including Penrith which recorded the hottest temperature on the planet on 4 January 2020 at 48.9 degrees Celsius.

The third is the enormous impact the Albanese Labor Government’s renewables only pathway is having on Western Sydney manufacturers. Over the next 10 years, 90% of 24/7 baseload power will leave the energy system in Australia under Labor’s plan. As coal-fired power stations retire, many in heavy industry are worried about energy reliability and security.

Manufacturers in Western Sydney are telling me they may need to close their doors or go offshore. In the midst of a cost-of-living crisis, we don’t want businesses closing and people losing their jobs.

Heavy industry needs gas. Solar panels on the roofs of manufacturer’s site offices barely have enough electricity to operate the computers and air conditioning, let alone power the facility to create enough heat to make bricks or steel. It demonstrates the ineptitude of this Labor Government’s understanding of Aussie Made sovereign manufacturing in this country.

Heavy industry also needs the power that nuclear will bring. Twenty-first century nuclear technology is safe and used in many countries around the world. The US and UK are building more nuclear power plants and along with 29 other countries including France and Canada, have committed to triple their nuclear power by 2050. Dozens of more countries are looking to adopt nuclear energy for the first time. We have had a nuclear facility in Sydney for over 60 years developing treatments that save lives.

The Albanese Labor Government has a responsibility to Australian families, small businesses and industry to ensure the lights are kept on at home and jobs are kept in Australia.