Mr GREG WARREN (Campbelltown) (10:56): I make a brief contribution to debate on the Energy Legislation Amendment Bill 2025, as I believe the member for Blue Mountains has already succinctly covered off the reasons for the Government's position. However, there is one particular point that I want to make: This Government believes that every resident is entitled to fair access to a clean and affordable supply of electricity and other types of energy. In this State and in this country, the politicisation of the energy debate has gone so far that I believe it is now costing consumers.
The reality is that I believe in the free market. Long story short, the market dictates what type of energy will be supplied. I used to drive coal trucks. That industry provided me an income for many years. But markets change. I did not change the market; we as politicians do not change the market. The reality is that energy prices are as high as they are because of a lapse in the technological innovation that results in cheaper electricity. As with any market, if something is expensive to produce, those costs will flow down to the end consumer, who will pay a higher price. Politicians in this country who continue to politicise the energy and climate debate have a lot to answer for. People commit their lives to researching in this space: scientists, innovators and people far smarter than I am.
My son Darcy just finished studying science at the University of Wollongong. He is a fine young chap, if I may say so. We were talking about the issue only recently. He is 21 years old, and he watches politicians carrying on on TV. He said, "Dad, I can't even believe that there are still politicians arguing about climate change and the science that surrounds it. They've got no idea what they're talking about. Do they realise they're making fools of themselves?" I said, "Mate, they either don't know because they're too dumb, or they do know and they don't care because they're nothing but fringe-dwelling populists who don't care about anything else." I believe in fronting up, no matter the issue. I do it in my electorate. Even if people do not like what they are hearing, they will respect you for being honest.
We need to get a bit of integrity, transparency and honesty back into the debate about energy supply, the energy market and climate change, because it is happening. We know it is, because nearly every scientist and every expert around the world says so. Imagine this backbench, nobody boy from Campbelltown rocking up saying, "No, sorry, you are all wrong." Why am I wrong? Because that will look good in my newsletter if I tell them they are wrong because it is a popular thing to say. That is the truth of it. Let's get fair dinkum. That is all it is about. I conclude by saying that I thank my parliamentary secretarial colleague for stating the Government's position, but we have to get fair dinkum in the country. The market is what it is. We need to supply cheaper, fairer and cleaner electricity, which I know this government is very committed to doing.
