It's Time to Put Families and Jobs First

Labor's net zero plan is economic sabotage and it’s time to put families, reliability and jobs first.

In other words - it’s time to change course.

When Anthony Albanese promised Australians an easy, cheap energy transition, Australians were duped into believing it would mean lower bills, secure supply and a smooth shift to a cleaner future.

Instead, after more than 3 years of Labor, families and small businesses are paying a heavy price for an energy policy built on ideology.

Across the country, households are now paying an average of $1300 more for their power.

Electricity bills keep rising, gas is harder to get, and our reliable energy sources are being squeezed out before replacements are ready.

For everyday Australians, net zero is a cost-of-living penalty.

It is an ideological policy choice that is punishing families. Chris Bowen is getting the families of Australia to foot the bill.

When your energy policy increases bills, risks reliability, and sends jobs and investment offshore, it’s not the right policy for Australia.

Labor’s obsession with net-zero mandates has created uncertainty for business and anxiety for households.

Instead of an affordable, steady transition, we have higher costs, less reliability and a shrinking industrial base.

Energy is the foundation of every modern economy.

Without affordable, reliable power, factories close, investments dry up, and families struggle.

The real hit from Labor’s policies hasn’t even landed yet because the costs of replacing coal with unproven large-scale renewables and transmission projects are still to come.

If we don’t change course now, the next wave of higher prices and blackouts will be worse.

The Liberal Party must stand where Australians need us most: for affordability, reliability and jobs.

Our energy policy should not serve an ideological agenda; it must serve the Australian people.

Families and small businesses want common sense, not slogans.

They want to know they can keep the lights on, the fridge running, and their business operating without fear of the next power bill.

They want governments to use all available technologies and not engage in costly experiments. Australians want governments to support industries that create jobs, not drive them away.

Internationally, the global conversation around net zero has shifted.

Major economies like the UK, Germany, Japan and the United States are slowing or adjusting their net-zero programs to protect jobs and curb costs.

They’ve learned what we are now experiencing: when you move faster than technology, the result is pain for consumers and decline for industry.

Australia doesn’t have to repeat their mistakes. We can learn from them instead. We can adopt a balanced, step-by-step approach, one that recognises that genuine emissions reduction must go hand in hand with affordability and reliability.

As we look toward the 2028 election, we must make it about affordable energy and national strength.

That means charting a new course, one that removes the confusion of half-measures and the burden of unattainable targets.

Compromise for the sake of appearances pleases no one.

It alienates those who seek a serious alternative to Labor’s approach, and it fails to reassure families who just want affordable power.

Australians deserve clarity, not confusion.

That’s why I believe we must step away from the net-zero target.

It has become a symbol of policy-by-ideology rather than policy-by-results.

The Liberal Party should instead back what works: affordable, reliable, Australian-made energy.

Backing what works means embracing a technology-driven, not target-driven approach. 

You can still reduce emissions but each step forward needs to be supported by technology that can actually deliver results without pushing up bills or threatening reliability.

That’s the practical Liberal way: move forward when it makes sense, not because a bureaucrat or activist says so.

We can support cleaner technologies, like carbon capture, gas, advanced nuclear, and renewables, when they are ready and affordable.

We can invest in innovation without sacrificing our competitiveness.

Above all, we must protect our jobs, our industries and our standard of living.

Western Australia’s economy depends on energy-intensive industries: resources, manufacturing, agriculture, and transport.

These sectors cannot survive under an energy policy that punishes success and rewards ideology.

Our opponents talk about “transition.”

We as Liberals should talk about prosperity.

Labor talks about “targets.”

We talk about results.

They prioritise ideology. We prioritise families.

As Liberals, we know the answer isn’t more regulation or higher prices, it’s innovation, competition, and confidence in Australian enterprise.

That’s what has always built our country, and that’s what will secure our future.

So as we meet in Canberra this week to determine our path forward, I will be arguing for a strong, practical Liberal position, one that puts Australian families first, that rebuilds our industrial strength, and that restores confidence in our energy future.

It’s time to reset our course and return to common sense.

Let’s back affordable energy, reliable power, and Australian jobs. Let’s put our nation’s strength ahead of Labor’s ideology.

Together, we can make 2028 about energy that works for families, for industry, and for our country.