TRANSCRIPT
"I've got the front cooling on, not the back."
It's 38 degrees in Canberra, but cool inside Kathryn Dan's house.
The Australian National University climate economist says she's spent 20-thousand dollars on energy upgrades.
This includes insulation, to double glazing and switching from gas to induction for cooking.
"Induction cook top, I like to cook. You'll see we've got lots of cookbooks. I like to cook. I thought, gas you know it's responsive. Once you work out how induction works, which takes a couple of days, it's so responsive, I really love it, I wouldn't go back. It's more efficient."
Ms Dan says in the first two years the bills went down 70 per cent - by about $2-thousand (($,2000)) dollars or so a year.
In New South Wales' southeast coastal region of Illawarra, 500 households have signed up for suburb-wide electrification.
The government is now ordering Australia's Renewable Energy Agency, better known as ARENA, to fast-track investment in similar projects across the country.
Saul Griffith is Rewiring Australia's Chief Scientist.
"This is our pathway to saving every Australian household $4000 or $5,000 a year. This is our pathway for getting our emissions to zero. This will improve the respiratory health of every Australian because the chief, one of the things that kills us the most is respiratory illnesses borne of burning fossil fuels inside your homes or in your community via cars. Our air quality improves our economics improves."
Energy Minister Chris Bowen advocates for ARENA's investment.
"ARENA will put them through their paces. They'll have to be shown to be good value for money. And if it's not good value for money, it won't be funded. And but when it's great value for money for Australia and reducing emissions and households to help them reduce their bills, they'll have very strong use for ARENA."
But Bowen has bent to crossbench pressure in exchange for Senate support.
"This is a parliament working together as it should, to get good things done for our country. There is an alternative of course, which is to stop all this and to go down a nuclear fantasy but we are not going to be distracted by that. Our process is all about choices for Australians. Giving Australians more options and opportunities. So we are saying to communities, come and talk to us about electrify, come and talk to us about your projects and through the Albanese government's funding mechanism which is ARENA, we are very excited about the opportunities available for communities here in Canberra and across the board."
With the threat of minority government looming, energy policy could be critical to who has the numbers to rule.
Independent senator David Pocock says change needs to happen now.
"This election is absolutely critical. Climate scientists have been warning us for a long time now that this is a critical decade when it comes to climate action. By 2030 we don't need to be taking action. We need to have taken decisive action."
He says climate scientists are beside themselves as they look at their projections, warnings and lack of action.
Commending the Future Made in Australia initiative from the government, he says the missing piece lies in households.
"How do we empower and enable Australians to one - be a part of decarbonisation, but two - to save thousands of dollars in cost of living crisis. One-off energy rebates, yes they will be helpful in some way, but you're just putting a band aid on. Let’s actually deal with the root causes, and save money for the future."
The Coalition's nuclear plan promises it can deliver nuclear by 2035.
Labelled unrealistic and more expensive by the energy market operator, C-S-I-R-O, and now the nation's new Chief Scientist, Tony Haymet, echoing similar sentiment.
"I think the CSIRO report is a very fine work. I don't know of any mistakes in it so if you do please let me know. Having been inside CSIRO, I see the care and the diligence that goes into these reports. You know when I've worked in university, as a Professor you write up your paper you send it in peer-reviewed by other people. For CSIRO it goes around complete, rigorous internal review where all your toughest critics are jumping on you and that's what's happened to that report."
Mr Haymet believes the evidence is not positive in the short term, saying they have to prove they can build it on time and on budget.
Peter Dutton is the federal Opposition Leader.
"19 out of the top 20 of the worlds leading economies, they have embraced nuclear because it is a zero emissions technology and they don't have a credible pathway to net-zero by 2050 without it. It's the only way they can firm up renewables in the system."
He says the one economy out of the 20 that doesn't have nuclear is Australia.
But Assistant Trade Minister, Tim Ayres, says Germany has closed its last nuclear power station.
"There are four additional countries outside of Australia that don't have nuclear power because it doesn't suit their interests, and in fact Germany closed down its last power station and its chancellor Olaf Scholz says nuclear power is a dead horse as far as Germany, one of the world's leading manufacturing economies is concerned."
In suburbs across the country, the energy debate will boil down to economics.
Tomorrow [[29th Jan, Wednesday]], Australians will see the latest inflation data which will help determine whether the Reserve Bank cuts rates next month.
This could determine how many voters cast their ballot in the upcoming election.
