The Nationals have put the national interest and regional Australians first by putting forward on Sunday our plan for a cheaper, fairer, better energy policy for our nation.

As we did with the Voice Referendum and nuclear energy, we have provided national leadership calling out that Labor will not reach their 2030, 2035 or even ‘net zero’ 2050 emissions reductions targets.

Australians are hurting with Labor’s rushed renewables-only approach driving up electricity prices 39 per cent since Labor adopted its net zero, gas prices are up 46 per cent and real wages have dropped to 2011 levels.

Regional Australia has already done the heavy lifting, with 90 per cent of emissions reductions already mostly focussed on mothballing productive farmland – think mass solar panel installations in ‘renewable energy zones’, in the King Valley, near Horsham and elsewhere, the proliferation of wind turbines such as at Murra Warra near Warracknabeal, and 28,000 kilometres of proposed transmission lines.   Regional Australia has already lost 7.2 million hectares of farmland with another 5.1 million on the chopping block.

Meanwhile, Australia has cut emissions since 2005 by 28 per cent on the latest data, double what comparable OECD countries have done in the same period of time.  

The Nationals’ plan will put lower prices first, scrapping carbon taxes and Labor’s war on utes and family cars.  We will unleash all our energy options, while improving soils and weather-proofing Australia by building dams.  We will align our emissions reduction trajectory closer to our major trading partners and competitors.  We will bring back the Coalition-era Emissions Reduction Fund which rewards farmers, communities and industries that find smart ways to reduce emissions, such as improving soil, planting trees or using cleaner technology.

We will bring nuclear into the picture as an option in our energy mix by reducing the ban on nuclear energy that makes Australia a global pariah, while other nations add or reinvigorate nuclear energy for the artificial intelligence revolution.

The Prime Minister has broken his core promise – Australians are being held back and are being left behind.  The Nationals will deliver you cheaper, fairer, better energy policy.