Cheap energy is critical to reviving the Australian economy and creating new jobs.
\nBut there\u2019s a roadblock to reducing power prices \u2013\u00a0the inefficiency of our electricity transmission system.
\nRunning from Tasmania to Far North Queensland, Australia\u2019s National Energy Market grid is one of the longest in the world. But it\u2019s not fit for purpose.
\nWe have already seen catastrophic failures.\u00a0Tasmania\u2019s Basslink\u00a0was cut off from the mainland grid for six months and wholesale electricity prices there rocketed.
\nOur transmission system was built for a time when solar panels ran pocket calculators, not the one in four households which have rooftop solar. The current network takes no account of the rise of renewables as the cheapest new energy source and doesn\u2019t help link these new sources up to the national grid.
\nA Labor government will tackle this head-on. We would invest in the Rewiring the Nation project, an overhaul of the grid that will create jobs, reduce power prices and facilitate Australia\u2019s potential as a renewable energy superpower.
\nWe need a more efficient grid that can move energy in multiple directions and from far more locations.
\nUpgrading the grid is technology-neutral. Because renewable energy is the cheapest method of new production it will benefit most and allow the distribution of the cheapest source more efficiently.
\nIf there\u2019s more wind blowing in South Australia than they can use, the right transmission infrastructure will mean they can sell the excess to Victoria and NSW, lowering energy bills in the process.
\nIt will facilitate the export of hydropower from Tasmania to the mainland. This is common sense.
\nRewiring the Nation will reduce power prices. Transmission systems are operated in each state by a monopoly provider, some foreign-owned. Those companies charge ordinary Australians not only the cost of building and operating the grid, but have in the past inflated costs in a process known as \u201cgold plating\u201d.
\nLabor wants to swap\u00a0gold plating for a gold standard.\u00a0Renewing the grid will be delivered by a public non-financial corporation to be called Rewiring the Nation.
\nIt will partner with transmission companies and the Australian Energy Market Operator to build, manage, maintain and operate a planned rollout of energy transmission assets.
\nAEMO has already produced a detailed blueprint for the work. It\u2019s a plan that has been signed off by all governments, stacks up regardless of the energy mix, and will create up to $40 billion of economic benefits, including in lower prices for consumers.
\nRewiring the Nation will create thousands of construction jobs for Australians in the regions. In addition, we\u2019ll require projects to use Australian workers using Australian supplies.
\nThese projects will set the foundations for revitalising traditional industries like steel and aluminium and allow new growth in emerging clean energy sectors like battery production and hydrogen energy.
\nRewiring the Nation will further drive down power bills by using the Commonwealth\u2019s ability to borrow at substantially lower interest rates, and making sure benefits are passed on to energy users here as lower prices.
\nThe coming years will demand a sophisticated energy grid to power Australian jobs.
\nProviding a clear strategic plan while lowering the cost of projects ensures consumers will pay less and Australian industry has the certainty it needs to supply into these nation-building projects and deliver more jobs.
\nLabor is looking to the future. We understand that the rise of renewable energy is real. We seek to exploit the shift to find new opportunities for job creation.
\nBy contrast, the Morrison government is frozen in the past as the world warms around it.
\nAfter 22 attempts over eight years, this government has no energy policy.\u00a0All it has produced are higher electricity prices. Labor has vision, just as we had when last in government when we proposed the construction of a fibre-to-the-premises National Broadband Network.
\nThe incoming Liberal government downgraded the project with a new model using 19th-century copper wire technology. Indeed, it bought 50,000 km of copper \u2013 enough to wrap around the earth.
\nThen, seven years later, it declared Labor was right in the first place and opted for the fibre-to-the-premises model. Fixing its mistake will cost Australians $4.5 billion \u2013 the price we all pay for this government of haste and waste.
\nLet\u2019s not repeat this mistake. Let\u2019s get our modern energy system right the first time.
\nLet\u2019s seize this chance to shape a future for our nation as big as our potential.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Cheap energy is critical to reviving the Australian economy and creating new jobs. But there\u2019s a roadblock to reducing power prices \u2013\u00a0the inefficiency of our electricity transmission system. Running from Tasmania to Far North Queensland, Australia\u2019s National Energy Market grid is one of the longest in the world. But it\u2019s not fit for purpose. We … Continue reading “REWIRED NATION REQUIRES GOLD STANDARD, NOT GOLD PLATING”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8766","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-aussie"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8766","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8766"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8766\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8766"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8766"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8766"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}