A FUTURE MADE IN AUSTRALIA BUT NOT UNDER LABOR

Regional Australia is worse off under Labor.

This will come as no surprise to readers. Every Australian is feeling the pinch. Particularly when they open their energy bills.

Labor is killing off Australian coal, suffocating Australian gas and holding back Australian uranium, while putting all its eggs in one basket to achieve a renewables-only electricity grid reliant predominantly on wind and solar.

Labor is closing down one system before another is ready to go and the result is clear.

Prices are soaring, productivity stalling and industries are on the verge of collapse, meaning jobs will be lost.

Australians now pay among the highest electricity prices in the world, the market operator is warning of blackouts and manufacturing insolvencies have increased threefold since Labor came to office.

Regional industries are hurting. The food and fibre produced in our regions depends on reliable and affordable power. From pumping water and running irrigators, milking cows, milling timber, packing fruit and veg or value adding to our homegrown Aussie produce, every end product is the result of a process that involves energy.

It’s no wonder that energy prices were among the top three issues of the SA Business Chamber’s Regional Survey.

The experiment run by Labor in South Australia has resulted in the highest electricity prices in the Nation and this means South Australian produced food and fibre is competing against interstate and overseas businesses able to produce that same product for less. 

Rather than learn from this experiment, the Albanese Labor Government has doubled down and as a result Australia’s future is looking increasingly like it will be made overseas.

There are many paths to net zero and if we take the wrong one, the consequences will be dire, particularly for our regions.

I believe the right path for Australia is a long-term energy security plan that includes a combination of energy sources while we transition from coal in a measured and considered way that won’t cripple our economy in the process. 

This path includes zero-emissions nuclear energy that will complement renewables and gas to get prices down and keep the lights on as we decarbonise.

We can lower emissions, support our regions and ensure a strong economy for Australia’s future, made in Australia.

But under Labor this isn’t happening, and our regional industries are suffering.