Rural and regional Australians don’t need to be convinced that action must be taken to address climate change.
In Indi we have experienced the impacts of our changing climate from storms, floods and bushfires.
Regional Australians understand resilience and are leading the way in emergency management and disaster recovery. We just need Governments to listen to us.
Locally-owned, cleaner and cheaper energy
Renewable energy is the cleanest and cheapest form of energy, and more than a dozen community groups in Indi have taken the initiative to harness the benefits of renewable energy generation and storage.
When I was elected to Parliament, I committed to working with local communities to develop a plan to drive locally-owned renewable energy projects in the regions. Together we unveiled the Local Power Plan in 2020, a comprehensive roadmap to unlocking the potential of renewable energy in regional Australia.
Indi is leading the way in community energy and setting an example for the nation to follow.
What I've achieved
Making home batteries cheaper
More than one-third of Australians have installed rooftop solar panels on their homes to reduce their energy bills and reliance on fossil fuels.
However, just one percent of these homes have a battery. Why? Because they are too expensive for the average family to afford.
Many people in Indi have told me that if home batteries were more affordable, they would install one.
I’ve introduced a Bill to do just that. Costed at just $3.6 million, my plan would reduce the cost of home batteries. With more people installing batteries at home, the stress on the electricity grid would be reduced resulting in less blackouts and building greater energy resilience within our regional communities.
What I've achieved
Keeping regional agriculture strong
Growing up on a dairy farm, I understand the impact the weather has on the livelihood of farmers and producers. Rapidly changing climate patterns threaten the future of agriculture in Australia.
Cotton yields declining by 17%, beef production down by 33% and overall agricultural productivity dropping by 17% – that’s what some of our best scientists predict if we fail to act decisively on climate change by 2050.
Right across Indi farmers tell me they want to reduce their emissions, but just haven’t had support from Government to do so.
Farmers are some of the most innovative and resilient people in our communities, but to keep our agriculture sector strong as we transition to net zero, we need to equip our farmers with evidence-led research and technologies.