Energy transition must deliver cheaper power and green jobs, “can’t be about Teslas in teal seats”

Every household should be able to upgrade their home and reap the power bill savings for years to come, regardless of their economic status, a forum has been told.

“This is about Australians taking back control of our power and our power bills, not leaving it in the hands of greedy energy companies,” ACTU president Michele O’Neil told the Better Futures Forum in Canberra on Tuesday.

“This can’t be about Teslas in teal seats.”

Unions, industry, First Nations groups, social services providers and climate organisations are preparing to launch a campaign on Wednesday to re-power all homes, not just those who can afford it.

The union leader accused “business cheerleader” Peter Dutton of wanting Australians to pay for the federal opposition’s “expensive nuclear fantasy”, which analysts say will drive up average power bills by another $1000 a year.

Ms O’Neil said the nuclear option would also leave coal workers without a way to transition into new renewable energy jobs.

Australian Council of Social Service climate and energy program director Kellie Caught warned there were three million Australians living below the poverty line and millions more that were on the verge because of the cost-of-living crisis.

“They’re not heating or cooling their home, they’re having fewer showers, they’re turning fridges off at night … even then people still can’t afford their bills,” she said.

“If we can tackle the energy performance of homes, we can do something about energy hardship.”

Brendan French, chief executive of Energy Consumers Australia, slammed the “enormous disparities” in what was an essential service, warning of the risk of creating an “energy underclass”.

People in the least energy efficient homes were spending the biggest proportion of income to stay warm in winter and cool in summer, but retooling meant there was an opportunity to design an energy system that people wanted, he said.

WA Energy Minister Reece Whitby doesn't believe nuclear power is a sensible option.  (Richard Wainwright/AAP PHOTOS)

Western Australia Energy Minister Reece Whitby said he had a “hell of a job” in “a dirty, great big state” that was shutting down coal-fired power but retaining gas.

“I look to our north, in the Pilbara region, which is twice the size of Victoria with the population of Wagga Wagga, it is a big dirty emitter,” he said.

About 40 per cent of the facilities covered by Australia’s emissions Safeguard Mechanism are located in that one area, and a network is being built to give iron ore mines and other producers access to renewable energy.

As Australia’s biggest emitter, WA had an obligation to the rest of the nation to help reduce global emissions by producing green iron and steel, Mr Whitby said.

He said nuclear power “doesn’t make sense on any level”, rejecting the coalition’s push to build a fleet of reactors, including in WA coal heartland Collie.

Christian Hampson, chief executive of Indigenous start-up Yerrabingin said Australians could also become more connected to a land that had always been resilient.

Country served as the world’s biggest environmental database and people should ask themselves what sort of ancestor they wanted to be, he said.

Mr Hampson said regeneration was important spiritually and physically, and design should follow the “bilby principle”.

“As my uncle would say, be more of a bilby – have big ears, big eyes and a little mouth.”