Post: What does a new federal government mean for the Australian energy industry?  

What does a new federal government mean for the Australian energy industry?  

Australia’s newly-appointed Prime Minister has said he wants to join the global effort towards tackling climate change and boost renewables power generation across Australia. 

“Together we can end the climate wars,” Anthony Albanese, whose Labor Party will take power for the first time in nearly a decade, declared in his victory speech on 21 May. “Together we can take advantage of the opportunity for Australia to be a renewable energy superpower.” 

On 23 May, Anthony Albanese was sworn in as the 31st Prime Minister of Australia, taking office with a message that the new government in Australia “represents a change in terms of the way that we deal with the world on issues like climate change”. He added the new government will set about implementing its agenda, which has “received the endorsement of the Australian people”, later this week, including the Powering Australia plan to deal with the opportunities that come with acting on climate change. 

Albanese wants to end Australia’s reputation as a climate outlier, while manufacturing renewable products like batteries and ramping up mining of green minerals such as lithium. Labor also plans to cut GHG emissions by 43% of 2005 levels by 2030 compared with the former coalition government’s target of 26-28% over the same period. It has also said that the coalition’s gas recovery plan is redundant.  

Key policies 

• New Energy Skills Program: A program to invest in the creation of 10,000 New Energy Apprentices. Labor has committed to paying A$2,000 per year (up to a cap of A$10,000) to entities taking on apprenticeships in qualifying industries. It has been suggested industries will include rooftop solar, large-scale renewables, and energy efficiency. 
• Powering the Regions Fund: A fund to “support measures to improve energy efficiency within existing industries and develop new industries in Regional Australia”.  
• National Reconstruction Fund: A A$15B fund to invest in green metals (steel, alumina and aluminium), clean energy component manufacturing, hydrogen electrolysers and fuel switching, agricultural methane reduction and waste reduction.  
• National Electric Vehicle Strategy: Labor intends to lower the cost of electric vehicles. Labor intends to achieve this by: reducing import tariffs “on some imported electric cars”; and applying a 47% benefits tax on electric cars that are provided through work for private use. The exemptions will only be available to vehicles below the luxury car tax threshold for fuel efficient vehicles (A$77,565). 

• Labour intends to support the rollout of 85 solar banks and the installation of 400 community batteries to allow those who cannot install rooftop solar at their own residence to purchase a share of a community-owned solar or battery project.  
• Labor plans to upgrade the electricity grid.  
• The adoption of the Business Council of Australia’s recommendation for facilities already covered by the government’s Safeguard Mechanism that emissions be reduced over time. 
• Protection of the competitiveness of Emissions Intensive Trade Exposed industries by ensuring they will not face a greater constraint than their competitors. 
• Reducing the Australian Public Service’s own emissions to net zero by 2030. 

• Working with large businesses to provide greater transparency on their climate-related risks and opportunities. 
• Restoring the role of the Climate Change Authority, while keeping decision-making and accountability with the government and introducing new annual Parliamentary reporting. 

GridBeyond Senior Business Development Manager Diogo Cabral said: 

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