This article is about energy, which has proved to be a contentious area in the Victorian election, just as it has been on a Federal level (for that article, see here). Where do the parties stand?
Labor (Government)
Minister: Lily D’Ambrosio (Energy; Environment and Climate Action; Solar Homes)
They have proposed reviving the State Electricity Commission, a state-owned energy company powered entirely by renewables. They have criticised the Kennett government’s decision to privatise energy three decades ago.
Labor wants to achieve 95% renewable energy by 2035, and Net Zero by 2045. The plan includes installing some 100 neighborhood battery systems.
Liberal (Opposition)
Shadow Minister: Craig Ondarchie (Energy and Renewables)
The Liberals want more gas exploration and production, along with reserving Victorian gas for domestic use (rather than exports).
Their energy policy also includes subsiding more solar panels and batteries and building more transmission infrastructure, particularly in Western Victoria. They also want to generate energy from landfill waste. Overall, they want to halve emissions by 2030.
Greens
Spokespeople: Ellen Sandell (Climate Change and Energy)
The Greens want Victoria to be 100% powered by renewable energy by 2030 (and reach net zero carbon emissions by 2035) and have called for a ban on new fossil fuel projects. They have criticised the Andrews government for keeping coal stations open and pursuing new gas drilling. For a fair transition, they want guaranteed jobs for coal and gas workers.
They want to transition homes from gas to electricity and enforce a minimum 8 star efficiency rating for new homes.
Minor Parties
The Reason party wants Victoria to reach zero carbon by 2030, including with 100% renewable energy. They oppose any new coal and gas projects, instead preferring to find new sites for hydro power. They also want more electric vehicles, phasing out new fossil-fuel vehicles by 2030.
The Health Australia Party supports having more renewable energy and phasing out fossil fuels. They are opposed to the idea of using nuclear energy. They also believe mining and coal-seam gas projects should have strict environmental safeguards. They seem somewhat skeptical about the causes of climate change, but do want more action on reducing pollution and emissions.
The Shooters Farmers and Fishers party want a “back-to-basics” approach to energy, which for them means supporting nuclear power and new coal plants. They are critical of energy projects that use up agricultural land. They also want to upgrade energy networks to reduce the risk of bushfires (i.e. from sparks).
Sources
Labor
https://www.danandrews.com.au/energy
Liberals
https://vic.liberal.org.au/our-plan
Greens
https://greens.org.au/vic/platform/climate
Reason
https://www.reason.org.au/climate_emergency_vic
Health Australia Party
https://www.healthaustraliaparty.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/HAP-Full-Policies-18.6.20-1.pdf
Shooters Farmers and Fishers
https://www.vicshootersfishersandfarmers.org.au/energy-mining