Tuesday, 4 March 2025

Energy policy

Katherine COPSEY (Southern Metropolitan) (13:38): I was appalled but not surprised to see in recent media reports that fossil fuel industry lobbyists have used a common playbook to try and prolong the use of fossil gas in people’s homes. UK-based think tank InfluenceMap have reviewed the way that these groups attempt to manipulate the public into staying hooked on their expensive, polluting product so they can keep making huge profits. In Victoria they have been running ads trying to whip up fears about costs, blackouts and energy security. They are desperately trying to distract from what we should really be afraid of: the health impacts of continuing to burn contaminating fossil gas inside our homes and the climate-supercharged weather events that carbon emissions are already bringing.

Our media is full of stories warning of future gas shortages, quoting gas industry representatives at length, but rarely pointing out that just 20 per cent of Australia’s gas is used for domestic purposes. We export far more gas than we would ever need for ourselves, yet Labor governments are determined to extract more polluting gas, with the state government approving new extraction near the Twelve Apostles last year and ConocoPhillips receiving federal approval for new gas wells in the Otway Basin just a few days ago. The solutions, though, are clear: we do not need more gas. We need to support households to electrify as quickly as possible, slashing power bills, slashing emissions and giving us healthier air to breathe.