What an exceptional occasion we have before us today with the bringing forth of the Constitution Amendment (SEC) Bill 2023, a bill that holds within it the promise of a brighter and more sustainable future for our state: one in which energy is returned to the hands of Victorians, where our energy sector is rapidly transformed to deliver us our target of 95 per cent renewables by 2035, where 59,000 clean energy jobs are created through monumental wind and solar projects, where profits are reinvested in the people, where our state is propelled towards net zero in the next two decades and where we as Victorians do our bit on the global stage to safeguard our climate.
It is nothing short of exhilarating, and in my community the enthusiasm for what the State Electricity Commission will bring and what it signals for our broader climate strategy is palpable.
Sadly, not everyone shares the excitement, nor our vision, nor our determination. The Liberal–National coalition predictably remains grumpy about the prospect of delivering state-owned 100 per cent renewable energy.
They would of course prefer the privatisation route, and we have all seen how that has panned out for Victorians – our power assets sold off to big private multinationals, power prices increasing, workers sacked, huge profits sent overseas, Victorian families bearing the cost and our climate bearing the weight of private companies with a singular purpose.
It is shameful and it never should have happened – that is why our Labor government is turning it around. It is what we promised Victorians, and it is what we are delivering, because unless you have not realised or heard, the SEC is back.
Last October it was registered as a proprietary limited company, and then a few weeks later, in November, the SEC was declared as a state-owned company under the State Owned Enterprises Act 1992. The Premier and the Treasurer each hold one share in the SEC.
Today we are further protecting it by enshrining it into our Victorian constitution.
This is a critical step for us, because although those opposite are not generally reliable in much at all, there is one thing we can count on them for, and that is that they will sell off the SEC at the first opportunity if they get their hands on it.
They have said as much themselves. It is no surprise really – privatisation is in their DNA. They are addicted to it. They even wanted to privatise sewerage before the last state election.
That is why we are not just content to bring back the SEC but enshrining it – protecting it from the whims of future conservative governments and making sure that Victorians can rely on publicly owned energy, clean jobs and emissions reductions for decades to come.
Under this bill the government will hold a controlling interest in the SEC, renewables will replace coal and new projects will be owned by every Victorian for their benefit.
The SEC will have some specific features and objectives which I want to touch on because these objectives hold great significance to my community in Northcote.
They are what we have been fighting for and pushing the agenda on as we have collectively worked to make Victoria the epicentre of real and rapid climate action.
First and foremost, the SEC will be enshrined to support Victoria’s transition to net zero emissions. It will generate, purchase and sell electricity in Victoria. It will own, operate, invest in or participate in renewable energy generation and storage systems and facilities.
Indeed the SEC is specifically prohibited from owning, operating or investing in a fossil fuel facility, making it always 100 per cent renewable.
Critically, the SEC will supply energy-related products and services to consumers in Victoria and play that really important role as a source of trusted information and support for Victorians to help them get off fossil gas and gain the benefits of reliable, affordable renewable energy.
Our renewable energy targets have never been more important for climate action, for cheaper electricity and for grid stability.
The SEC will play a crucial role in getting us to where we need to be, and that is doing our part under the Paris goal of limiting warming to 1.5 degrees.
We have traversed a remarkable path since 2014, when only 10 to 12 per cent of our energy came from renewables, our emissions reduction target had been dumped and huge exclusion zones had ground renewable energy investment to zero.
Fast-forward to the present, and Victoria has the strongest climate legislation in the country. We are decarbonising at the fastest rate in the country, and we have cut emissions by more than any other state.
We are absolutely leading the nation here, there is no question about it. Victoria now has a renewable output of 36 per cent, on track to achieve 40 per cent by 2025 and 50 per cent by 2030.
If we can continue on this path, we will reach the colossal milestone of 95 per cent renewable energy by 2035 – a mind-bending achievement from where we were at in 2014. That does not happen by accident, it happens when Victorians choose governments that are focused on real action, energy equity and reform that pushes us forward.
It also happens when Victorians reject the cynicism, virtue signalling and empty slogans that are doled out by the Greens and extremist minor parties.
Curbing the impacts of climate change takes galvanisation of support from every sector of our society, yet in the sinister political calculations made within the darkest corners of the Greens party room, they surmise that they can alienate large segments of our community in order to peel off support from others.
So we see the same old tactics: grandstanding media opportunities, destructive and obstructive showboating, blocking of progressive bills.
The objective for them is not progress, it is recruitment. Maybe it would be a little less obvious if they actually showed up once in a while for a vote or a debate or put in any actual policy development work. But it is pretty obvious where their motivations are, and it is certainly not with genuine climate action.
Actual reform requires the work of bringing communities with you, not alienating them. It takes perseverance, engagement, policy refinement and getting that balance right of incentives, support and legislation to make sure equity and security remain at the heart of our transition – none of which you will get with a three-word slogan on a rock poster.
Labor’s transition supports Victorian households and businesses every step of the way while we are propelling us forward and playing to our enormous strengths as a state.
Programs like the power saving bonus, Solar Homes and the Victorian energy upgrades are already making a huge difference. Just a few weeks ago I was proud to join the Minister for Energy and Resources in the inner north, where we announced the Solar for Apartments program. It is something I pushed for in Parliament last year off the back of many conversations in my own community about ways we can make it easier for renters and low-income earners to access solar subsidies and lower their bills.
The new program means apartment households can apply for rebates, and in some cases this will cover 100 per cent of the system purchase and installation costs, meaning switching to solar will be free.
This is the kind of policy that makes a real difference in people’s lives, and it builds off our resoundingly successful Solar Homes program, a program that has already resulted in over 300,000 installations of solar PV, hot water and batteries, a program that those opposite wound themselves up in a tizz over because it was apparently too interventionist. If ‘intervention’ means support to households and propelling our state to energy efficient homes, lower bills and less emissions, they might need to rethink their approach.
There is so much to say about the SEC and its value within our energy sector and economy, not least being how it will support a new clean energy workforce. Apprentices and trainees are going to be a key part of this initiative, and the establishment of an SEC centre of training excellence and the development of a Victorian energy jobs plan are key, because we want Victorians to have every opportunity to be part of the renewable energy transition in our state, to access the jobs of the future that will be created as we unlock billions of dollars in investment.
An exciting part of this workforce development is happening at a local school level, with renewable energy pathways now embedded in Victoria’s core offering of VET in schools.
This means any student studying VCE, including the VCE vocational major or Victorian Pathways Certificate, can work towards a career in Victoria’s booming renewable energy sector. I know that this is of particular interest and excitement to my community, where in recent years both of our government high schools, Northcote High and Thornbury High, have received significant investment from our Labor government to build dedicated science, tech, engineering and maths facilities to augment student learning.
Last year I joined the Thornbury High community to celebrate the grand opening of their state-of-the-art STEAM centre, a utter triumph for that school, and later this year I hope to do the same at Northcote High. STEM jobs are growing almost twice as fast as other jobs in Australia, and we are giving our students every opportunity to access them through the pipeline and pathways that will be offered through the SEC.
This bill and enshrining the SEC in our Victorian constitution is a vital step forward as we embark on a necessary transformation of our energy sector to deliver reliable, secure, affordable and clean energy.
I know it is difficult for those opposite to wrap their heads around it, but inertia in relation to the risk of climate change is not an option. We will not be deterred by those opposite – not now, not ever.
