Wind drought and energy security for manufacturers

Constituency Statements
Energy
Federation Chamber
20 August 2024

Yesterday's Daily Telegraph highlighted the wind drought plaguing our energy system. Industry experts are deeply worried that, without a mix of energy sources, power in people's homes and in small businesses and manufacturing will just go out. The Albanese Labor government's all-eggs-in-one-basket renewables-only approach is taking Australia for a ride, and it is surely taking its toll, particularly on manufacturers in Western Sydney.

It isn't hard to realise that, when you rely solely on the wind blowing all the time and the right amount of sunlight every day to power the energy grid, it will just become an increasingly huge problem. We need 24/7 base-load power. We need gas, we need renewables and we need nuclear. We need to see renewables flourish alongside keeping our gas industry going and developing nuclear power stations across the country for energy stability and security.

So many of our domestic manufacturers, particularly in Western Sydney, rely on gas to power their businesses and to make their Aussie made products. We're seeing record numbers of manufacturers closing on this Labor government's watch. In fact, manufacturing insolvencies have tripled since the last election. It is a disgrace. These small-, medium- and large-scale manufacturers need cheaper power prices to survive in the current economic climate.

In my Western Sydney community, a steel manufacturer in Emu Plains, right in my electorate, recently told me their gas bill had gone up almost 40 per cent since Labor took office in 2022. A defence contractor and manufacturer in Jamisontown said their bills were up 100 per cent. They looked into the government's solar-for-business scheme, but it was not feasible for their business. They said, 'It doesn't matter how many solar panels we put on the roof; we can't power our industry with solar panels, and in fact the structure of our roof just won't hold these solar panels. We need gas.' I also have a gym in Penrith which has had their energy bills double. Small business needs a leg up, not a small, $325 handout which goes nowhere near paying the real cost of the energy they need to create products and to operate.

We saw recent closure statistics for businesses, and they were dire for Western Sydney. Last week we had CreditorWatch's most recent update of its Business Risk Index, which noted that 90 per cent of Australia will see an increase in the number of business failures in the year to come. From this data, Western Sydney is one of the two hardest hit regions across Australia. If the Albanese government do not think this has to do with energy prices, they surely have their heads in the sand.

We need gas, we need renewables and we need nuclear to secure our energy future, and we need to be backing industry across Western Sydney.

Hansard - Federation Chamber 20/08/2024 Parliament of Australia (aph.gov.au)