Victoria’s energy minister has come out swinging ahead of the state election later in 2026, telling a conference that a Liberal government will decapitate the burgeoning renewables industry.
Lily D’Ambrosio hammered home her own track record of lifting renewable energy penetration to 44 per cent last year, beating the state’s target of 40 per cent, and delivered a scorching indictment of the achievements of the last Liberal government and the aims of the latest hopefuls.
“They will smash renewable energy investment and punch a hole in confidence. They’re proposing 2km setbacks for wind turbines, which will make it impossible to build wind in Victoria,” she said at CEDA’s Climate and Energy summit.
“They’ll add red tape by forcing proponents through assessments that are in addition to the current planning processes.
“They’ve said they’ll pause the VNI West transmission project, dealing another blow to replacement electricity supply being built…. And they’ll attempt to extend the life of Yallourn, our oldest and less reliable coal fired generator, [past 2028] creating uncertainty for investors and communities and increasing the risk of blackouts.”
D’Ambrosio’s apocalyptic vision for renewable energy developers and household bills comes as polls show the election, which will take place in November, could be won by anyone if held today.
Roy Morgan polling this week shows Labor on 25.4 per cent, One Nation at 24.5 per cent and the Liberals trailing both on 24 per cent.
But a poll last week by Resolve Political Monitor for The Age found the Liberals ahead at 29 per cent, followed by Labor on 27 per cent and One Nation another 6 points back.
Betting markets show Australians are much more convinced one way, with SportsBet paying Labor at $1.73, the Coalition at $2.33, and One Nation under “any other result” at a distant $10.
Victoria Liberal energy spokesperson David Davis has been contacted for comment about the party’s up-to-date policies.
Despite the complexity and pace that Victoria’s energy sector is moving, covering as it does everything from offshore wind to transmission and state-owned projects and regulators, the Victoria Liberals are yet to publish their policies around energy.
Instead, the party is drip feeding ideas through social media, mainly around gas, and its leaders have made their positions on other elements of the industry clear over time.
Davis opposed the planning changes in 2024 that allowed renewable energy projects to be fast tracked and stopped appeals to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) once planning decisions are made.
Last week the party said it would overturn bans on gas to new homes and businesses.
Leader Jess Wilson is also promising more gas peaking plants in the state.
Wilson and Davis opposed new laws passed last year that bring Victoria into line with other states on access, and have attacked the controversial VNI West transmission line.
Victorian Nationals MP Martin Cameron this week called for the Yallourn power station to be kept open past 2028.
But the opposition is going up against one of the most seasoned energy politicians in the country, and D’Ambrosio was pulling no punches on Thursday.
“The consequences will be blackouts, high power prices for all, and lost jobs and investments here in Victoria,” she said.
“They won’t want to talk about this too much, but my job is to force them to force them to talk about it, because Victoria has deserved to know what the choice is.”
D’Ambrosio noted the 14 wind projects dropped in 2014 after planning restrictions the year before banned turbines in some areas and imposed household vetos over turbines within 2km of homes.
She says retail power prices rose by 34 per cent during the previous Liberal government that won power in 2010, and $4 billion in investment went to other states.
The sector that the next government will inherit is complicated, as comparatively new organisations Vicgrid and the SEC manage transmission, renewable energy zones and governments-owned battery, solar and wind projects.
Today there are 45 operating wind farms in Victoria, 18 operating solar farms that are bigger than 30 MW, and seven operating big batteries, according to industry data site Renewmap, and nine projects still in the running with offshore wind licences.
