SUBJECTS: Powering Australia Plan, emissions reductions, Scott Morrison.

ANTHONY ALBANESE: Thanks for joining me. It is a pleasure to be in Chris Bowen’s electorate at Smithfield at the largest industrial estate in the southern hemisphere. And I want to thank Alex for welcoming us today to his business, his business that is being powered by renewable energy, enough renewable energy together with offsets to make sure that this factory is operating more efficiently, more productive and without emissions, without adding to the problem of climate change. And it is good business. And that is what business knows. And our policy, our Powering Australia Plan, is about listening to business.

Just as individual households have recognised that putting solar panels on their roofs with batteries preferably, they can pay off the cost of that investment in a very short period of time and then benefit from then on by getting free power effectively if they get it right. They can be better off in terms of their living standards. Business is going the same thing. But what they say is they need certainty and it is very clear that only a Labor Government has a credible climate policy. Only a Labor Government will develop one, just one, effective energy policy and our policy will make a difference to the country and will allow us to join the global effort.

Business have been crying out for certainty and that is why it is very pleasing to see the comments of the Business Council of Australia, the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Australian Industry Group - all of these business organisations welcoming Labor’s plan because it is what they have been calling for. It is what Australia needs.

Our Powering Australia Plan will create over 600,000 jobs. It will reduce energy prices in the national energy market for households by $275. It will reduce emissions by 43 per cent by 2030 because it will power renewables investment in this country.

Clean energy is good policy. Clean energy is cheap policy and Labor will deliver clean energy and make Australia a renewable energy superpower for the world.

Now I noticed Scott Morrison’s comments yesterday. He spoke about safety. Well this is a Prime Minister, when it comes to safety, he is the latest person who should talk. The first thing I would say is that it is unfortunate that on the day he was out there running a scare campaign the New South Wales Government was announcing a renewable energy zone, increased investment in the Central Coast and Hunter. That’s what a government that actually wants to govern is doing, whether they are Labor or Liberal. Scott Morrison doesn’t want to govern. He just wants a scare campaign. The fact is that Scott Morrison has risked the safety of Australians too many times. He risked the safety of Australians by not securing enough vaccines. He risked the safety of Australians by not having purpose-built quarantine. He risked the safety of Australians for ignoring the warnings about the ongoing bushfire crisis that was coming during the summer of two years ago and then went missing in action when what was required was leadership.

The fact is that this Prime Minister is the last person in the whole Parliament who should speak about safety. Labor’s plan is about safety and security going forward. It is about the security of people’s jobs. It’s about the security of our national economy. It’s about making sure that we have an economy that has growing jobs, that has cheaper energy prices, that has more renewables and that has less emissions.

CHRIS BOWEN: It’s great to have Albo here in my hometown of Smithfield here at Impact, where they know that good renewable energy is good for business. As the Business Council knows, as the Australian Industry Group knows, as the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry knows.

Here at Impact they have reduced their power bills by 20 to 25 per cent since they took the wonderful initiative of installing the solar array. And business gets that the world’s climate emergency is Australia’s jobs opportunity.

That is why the Business Council said yesterday in response to our Powering Australia Plan that Labor’s sensible and workable plan is a welcome step. That’s why the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry has said ambitious emission reductions announced by the Opposition offer pathway to achieve economic and technological transition towards a more sustainable future.

Business gets it. Industry gets it. The Business Council gets it. The Australian Industry Group gets it. The Australian Chamber of Commerce gets it. I’ll tell you who doesn’t get it is Scott Morrison.

We welcome the constructive engagement of business An Albanese Labor Government will work with business on these great opportunities. A Morrison Government is working against business. Scott Morrison thinks he knows more about business than the Business Council, more about industry that the Australian Industry Group.

He hasn’t been constructive in his response to our plan. He responded to it before he had seen it. I tell you what, he says that a 43 per cent emissions reduction target isn’t safe. Well here again his dishonesty is catching up with him. Remember before he was committed to net zero he said one of the reasons you couldn’t commit to net zero was because a 43 per cent emission target – exactly 43 per cent - was needed to get there. It just shows his lack of honesty. He is not really committed to net zero.

Here’s the other question he has got to answer. Is he saying that the New South Wales emissions reduction target of 50 percent is unsafe for the Hunter? Is he saying that Premier Marshall’s emission reduction target of 50 per cent is unsafe?  Or Premier Gutwein’s of 100 per cent?

Scott Morrison is making it up as he always does and his fundamental dishonesty catches up with him. The Anthony Albanese plan for Powering Australia is a plan for government, a plan to take the economic opportunity that is the world’s climate emergency – one that we will fight for up to the next election and fight with up to the next election and implement should the Australian people choose us as the next government of Australia.

ALBANESE: I will just add one thing which is that one of the defining characteristics of the next federal election campaign will be about the nature of Australia’s Government. Scott Morrison constantly wants to divide Australians. He is always looking for a fight, always looking for an argument, never looking for solution.

As leader of this country I will unite the country going forward. I will work with business. I will work with unions. I will work with civil society. I think people have had enough of the conflict. People have had a really difficult two years and what they want is a government that puts that behind them. The only way to put that behind them is to put Scott Morrison’s Government behind them and elect a Labor Government. Because it is only a Labor Government that will seek to work with business, with unions, with the community in Australia’s long-term national interest. Scott Morrison looks at every issue as an opportunity for short-term political rhetoric. He never actually looks towards what does Australia need. That is why he has come up with more than 20 energy polices and haven’t landed a single one. We’ve got one policy. This is the policy we will implement in government. It’s good policy. It’s good for jobs. It’s good for lowering energy prices and it is good for dealing with the challenge of climate change.

ENDS