Page 1436 - Week 04 - Wednesday, 24 March 2010
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expectation has been that energy is an abundant commodity that we can easily take for granted.
But energy prices are rising. Firstly, irrespective of the climate change imperative, we are seeing price rises as a result of higher demand driving a need for expanded energy infrastructure and upgrades to the electricity grid. This is important to recognise—network costs increased more than 18 per cent in the last electricity price determination by the ICRC, whereas green energy policies only resulted in a five per cent increase. In New South Wales, network infrastructure was responsible for approximately half of the price increase in the 2009-10 price review. So it is network costs, due to rising demand and ageing infrastructure, which are driving prices up.
In addition to these cost pressures, it is well accepted that energy prices will rise over the years ahead as the true cost of fossil fuel generation is factored into the market and cleaner power sources become competitive. In order to radically change our consumption patterns, we must learn to value electricity as a commodity. A recurring issue when we plan the shift from a community that has had plentiful and cheap coal-fired electricity to one that must operate in a carbon constrained world is that of equity.
We must be aware that those who are most vulnerable in our society are also more likely to be affected by rising electricity prices in a way that is not equitable. The Greens believe that, first and foremost, we must make the changes to the electricity market that will drive the bulk of the market to value electricity in a way that reflects the true cost. However, as a wealthy city, we can afford to protect those that we know are disproportionately affected by the impacts of climate change and rising energy prices, and this is something that we must commit to.
The Greens’ position on climate change is well known, as is our support of those in the community who are most vulnerable. So the issue of the impact of climate policies on low income households is a natural nexus for the Greens. Given the paramount importance of moving ahead on climate and energy work in the ACT this year, now is a good time to address these concerns further.
There are people who, over the years, have pulled every argument out of the hat about why we should not take action on climate change—“It will destroy our economy; we’ll lose jobs; we can’t afford it,” are the usual reprises. It is time to move on from those outdated arguments. We know that it will not destroy our economy; in fact, we know that we can grow green jobs, and we know that we can afford it.
We have had clear advice that we cannot afford not to take early action, that early action will be cheaper than delayed action and it will avoid the worst impacts of climate change. However, as a community that is, I hope, going to take strong action on climate change, we must ensure that those who are most vulnerable to energy price rises can both continue to afford their energy bills and that they are our very highest priority for energy efficiency programs that are rolled out through the community.
We know climate change is likely to impact on low income households disproportionately both globally and locally. The Australian Council of Social Service
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