The Albanese Labor Government’s inability to read the international political climate and instead press on with their domestic climate agenda demonstrates that the Prime Minister isn’t focused on the struggles of the Australian people, Member for Mallee Dr Anne Webster MP said.

In the wake of President Trump signing an executive order withdrawing the USA from the Paris Climate Accord on the same day of his 20 January second inauguration, the Albanese Government has indicated it will look to work with other countries on reaching greenhouse gas emission reduction targets.

“Over fifty per cent of the world’s emissions come from China (30 per cent), the USA (11 per cent), India (8 per cent) and Russia (5 per cent) with China’s emissions over four times their 1990 levels and India three times,” Dr Webster said.

“Australian emissions are up a mere one quarter of our 1990 emissions, which places us deep in the bottom half of all nations’ emission profile increases.  Australians are already doing the heavy lifting to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

“The Albanese Labor Government is railroading regional Australian communities with wind turbines, blanket solar panels, big batteries and 28,000 kilometres of transmission lines (like VNI-West) just to get brownie points on the global stage, but the Trump Administration has hit the brakes.

“Labor made a central promise 97 times in 2022 to reduce Australians’ power bills by $275 and it is now officially broken.  One-off quarterly relief for a year doesn’t cut the mustard. 

“Labor said their transition to a renewables-only energy grid would cost $112 billion but Coalition-revealed modelling showing that Labor’s plan will cost $642 billion.

“Householders are feeling the pain in their power bills with energy prices up 32 per cent nationwide under the Albanese Labor Government - before the government’s rebates are factored in.

“Mallee small businesses are struggling with rising costs with energy prices a major contributing factor to lost profitability and business closures.  Across Australia 27,000 small businesses have already closed and more than 400 families a week are entering hardship arrangements with their energy providers.

“Labor has failed Australians on inflation, energy prices, housing and security. Inflation averaged 2.2 per cent under the Coalition but has averaged 4.5 per cent under Albanese Labor, with their policies making inflation worse.  The International Monetary Fund projects that this year Australia will have the second highest inflation of any developed country, after the Slovak Republic.

“An incoming Coalition Government will generate fewer emissions by 2050 with our responsible energy plan, integrating nuclear energy at existing coal-fired power plant sites and using existing transmission networks.

“We will end Labor’s anti-gas crusade and responsibly use gas to transition to a zero-emissions energy future when nuclear is ready to come onto the energy grid.

“Renewable energy will be a major part of Australia’s energy mix, in locations that genuinely tick the social, economic and environmental criteria. 

“The Coalition won’t railroad regional Australia to stave off losing inner-city seats to the Greens and Teals.  The Prime Minister needs to get his head out of the clouds and into the struggles of Australian families and small businesses who can’t afford Labor’s global ideological crusades."