The planet’s climate crisis is Australia’s jobs opportunity.

As the world gathers in Glasgow in a fortnight to broaden global ambition on climate change action, Australia cannot continue to be a pariah.

Action on climate change will mean more jobs for Australians, lower power prices and a cleaner environment.

It is beyond dispute the cheapest form of new energy is renewable energy. It is cheap and getting cheaper and the world’s appetite for it is growing.

But the Coalition government has talked down renewables for a decade, preferring ideological rhetoric to opportunities to create secure jobs. As on so many issues, the government is more interested in politics than the best outcomes. And on energy, they’ve been proven wrong.

In spite of their rhetoric, there are no new coal-fired power stations being built in this nation. Indeed, they wasted taxpayer funds on a feasibility study for a proposed private sector coal-fired plant in Queensland that serious people in the energy sector say will never proceed.

By contrast, the Labor Party has put forward constructive plans. One of my first announcements as Labor Leader was the adoption of the target of netzero emissions by 2050.

We have followed that up with commonsense plans including bringing our grid into the 21st century by fixing electricity transmission so it can incorporate renewables through our $20bn Rewiring the Nation plan.

We also have plans to reduce taxes on electric vehicles and create community batteries that will allow households with solar panels to store excess energy. The Coalition’s energy approach has been characterised by policy inertia and a lack of urgency.

Despite 22 attempts, they have failed to frame a coherent national energy policy, with each new idea derailed by internal divisions.

The irresistible wave of change is sweeping over our government.

Australia has lost first-mover advantage. And as the rest of the world moves, we risk our inertia exposing us to real financial penalties.

Every state and territory government has supported net zero by 2050.

Put together, their targets for 2030 represent a substantially higher emissions reduction objective than the federal Coalition’s 26 to 28 per cent target.

The Business Council of Australia, the National Farmers Federation and the Australian Industry Group have all chosen to move beyond the Coalition’s ideology and scare campaigns. That’s because these groups are acting on the basis of facts, not fear.

Australia has the workers, the resources and the capacity to become a renewable energy superpower for the world. Already, Queensland company Tritium is producing the world’s fastest electric-vehicle charging stations and exporting them to Europe and North America.

Green hydrogen can be a significant provider of jobs, which explains recent announcements of major projects in NSW and in the Queensland industrial powerhouse centre of Gladstone.

Cheap clean energy will give this country real competitive advantages to assist the expansion of high-value manufacturing.

That’s why Labor sees renewables an important component of our vision for a Future Made in Australia.

While the export of our resources will continue to be important, we have opportunities beyond that. We should maximise our potential to value-add here in Australia with our abundance of lithium, nickel, copper and other resources which will only rise in value with demand.

In the shadow of the Glasgow meeting, it is almost beyond belief doubt remains about whether the Australian Prime Minister will join world leaders.

We have a seat at the table where critical decisions will be made that will affect Australians and our economy. There should be no question about Australia’s participation.

I fully expect Australia will adopt the net-zero emissions target by 2050, just as the Howard government changed its position to support ratification of the Kyoto Protocol and the introduction of an emissions trading scheme on the eve of their 2007 election defeat.

Only a Labor government will work with state and territory governments, the business community and workers to ensure that no-one is left behind by change and no-one is held back from enjoying the positive benefits that change can bring.

 

This opinion piece was first published in the Daily Telegraph, the Herald Sun and the Courier Mail on Friday, 15 October 2021.