It would be wonderful to be able to stand here and know that the Leader of the Nationals and those opposite actually back in real climate action. This side of the house time and time again, every week when we come to this place, is introducing legislation and bills to do just that – tackle climate change and take real climate action. There is a reason why we are seeing increasing fires and the veracity of those fires, and it is climate change, and we need to take some climate action. This is partly what this bill is about.

That is right, member for Pascoe Vale. We know that those opposite do not believe in climate change, and they certainly are not prepared to engage with this side of the house when it comes to taking climate action.

I do have to say I am really glad to be able to stand today to debate again another piece of energy legislation. Time and time again, since I was elected in 2018, I have been absolutely astounded at how hardworking this government and the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action have been – there is no other way to describe it – in pumping out legislation to improve Victoria’s energy network and absolutely turbocharging our investments in renewable energy. For the last three sitting weeks we have had a piece of legislation relating to this portfolio, which again speaks to how impressive, how gargantuan – I can barely say that word – the work really is that our government has been doing in the energy space. Just last week we were here in this place debating legislation that would enshrine the SEC in Victoria’s constitution – such an important debate that took place here in this place. The sitting week before that we passed legislation that enshrined our government’s ambitious renewable energy and emissions reduction targets into law. And this week we are here to debate another two pieces of legislation that deal with – surprise, surprise – renewable energy.

This bill in particular takes a look at our energy transmission network and the grid, because it is all well and good to be investing in renewable energy projects, particularly at the pace we are – projects that are going to transform our energy network – but we need to be able to get the energy generated into homes, into businesses and into the many, many, many thousands of buildings that now rely upon it.

This renewable energy future requires significant investment. I recall a few years ago my office was contacted by constituent who had taken part in our government’s Solar Homes program. This was a phone call about which I think many MPs here in this place will be able to say, ‘Yes, I’ve had many of them myself,’ if they too have not already experienced the problem. This constituent did the right thing and set up solar panels on his property, but there was one slight problem – our grid was built and designed with the purpose of feeding power one way. It had always been like that – directly to the consumers. With solar now allowing households to generate and feed electricity back into the grid, it is now a two-way street that a large proportion of the network was not designed for and was never set up for. It is something that our government is already tackling. In the last term we invested $10 million, remember, into the grid of the future program, which looked at upgrading our transmission network to enable that feedback that we were getting from solar-powered homes.

This bill takes a more holistic approach. It sets a strategy for long-term planning for and the transformation of Victoria’s transmission network and energy grid, because we know that by 2035, when we reach our target of 95 per cent renewable energy in Victoria, we are going to need to unlock an additional 25 gigawatts of new capacity. At the moment our current network generates about 15.6 gigawatts of capacity, and you do not need to be a mathematician to see we need to do something in this space. We are set to lose at least 4.8 gigawatts with retiring coal-fired power generators. But we do know on this side of the house – and I do believe that our community know; indeed it is a global conversation that many, many countries are going ahead and tackling and getting on and doing something about – that it is clear that the next big build is in renewables. It is a big build that is going to generate an additional 59,000 new jobs by 2035, attract billions of dollars in investment and create some of the cheapest electricity we have ever produced. Just this week we have already seen it begin to pay off for Victorians with the Victorian default offer dropping power bills by $112 for households and $266 for businesses.

That is a huge win whether you are a family or you are running a small business. Indeed it is something that, when I have put it up across social media channels, has been so popular, with so much commentary about being able to save money and put that money towards other things like holidays or food on the table. Whatever families are wanting to spend that extra money on, now they have a bit extra in their back pocket. Now, that is money back into the pockets, let us be clear about this, of over half a million Victorian families and 58,000 businesses.

Our renewable energy transition will ensure that power prices continue to drop over the coming years. But key to this transition is the preservation, the operation and the management of renewable energy zones. I look at this and I think, ‘Oh, my gosh. We’ve got another acronym for energy, and that is the REZ’. These zones are areas that have been identified as prime land and prime locations with the greatest potential for renewable energy projects to generate the best outcomes. There are currently six of these renewable energy zones in Victoria and they have been identified by the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO). We know they are going to be in the central north, Gippsland, the Murray River region, the Ovens–Murray region in the north-east of the state, western Victoria and indeed the south-west coast, including Portland, Heywood, Mortlake and Terang.

What this bill does is combine each of these zones under one big framework, and that is going to be the Victorian transmission investment framework. I am not going to read out that acronym, because I think one in my contribution today is well and truly enough. At the helm of the framework is a new government body, and that is going to be VicGrid, which is the subject of this bill today. VicGrid was first announced by our government in 2020 and was established as a division within the former Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning, which is now the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action.

The first thing the bill is going to do is empower the CEO of VicGrid to make decisions regarding the planning of these REZs, and this is effectively going to make VicGrid a body responsible to the Victorian government for the planning and development of those zones. Under the current legislation we know that AEMO is solely responsible for the planning and the expansion of Victoria’s transmission network. But what we have actually done is go out and listen to the stakeholders and the key players in this space, and what we have heard about is the way this process currently works. It all seems, quite frankly, pretty backward. All it does is create angst in communities that host this infrastructure, and it creates further uncertainty, sadly, for investors. What we have also learned is that communities want to be consulted earlier on, and I think that is something we certainly do take into account regardless of what bill and legislative reform we are undertaking. In addition to the planning, VicGrid will also be empowered to assist AEMO with its functions and performance, and this includes things like environmental surveys and facilitating investment.

I have only got about 60 seconds left and this is such a great bill. There is so much to talk about on the contents, and I know that my colleagues on this side of the house will very soon delve into the detail of this bill. But I do have to say, as someone who spent 13 years working across the country on transmission and distribution of electricity and gas networks, this is a fantastic bill. This goes to the heart of making sure that legislation is continuing to keep up with the dramatic investment that we are making into renewables – because it is one thing to make announcements, but it is another thing to bring bills and legislative reform here to this place to be debated to ensure it is in place and working when these sorts of renewable energy projects come online. I do want to commend the minister for her hours of work on these projects, and I commend the bill to the house.