Today in Parliament, Abigail contributed to a debate advocating that when it comes to renewables, we need to accelerate the rollout, expand public and community ownership, guarantee jobs and just transition pathways for workers, electrify homes, retrofit social housing, and make sure renters benefit too.
Abigail said:
I contribute to debate on the motion. It acknowledges what communities have known for years: Despite the noisy protestations of a disgruntled minority, the renewable energy transition is underway, is popular and is being driven in large part by ordinary people. Rooftop solar is one of the great revolutions in our energy grid, especially in the country—eight gigawatts of energy generation on the roofs of New South Wales homes. That is a profound structural shift in the way in which power is generated. It is the equivalent of three coal-fired power stations, owned by households and not by multinational corporations. Those households are taking control of their power bills, reducing emissions and strengthening the grid.
The data is clear: Support for clean energy is strong, including in renewable energy zones. There is over 60 per cent support in regional communities. That should put to bed the tired and lazy narrative peddled by fossil fuel lobbyists and dark money that rural and regional communities are hostile to renewables. They are not. People in the regions are practical, are ambitious and have a vision for the future. They want jobs, investment and cheaper power. They want a future for their kids that is not defined by climate chaos. But if we are to be honest when noting those victories, it is important to note what is also missing in this profound transition.
Rooftop solar uptake has been driven overwhelmingly by households—by people dipping into savings, taking out loans or responding to Federal incentives. Meanwhile, too many renters are locked out, too many social housing tenants are locked out and too many low-income households are locked out. If we are serious about downward pressure on prices then the transition must be equitable. The Electricity Infrastructure Roadmap, while important, cannot simply be a vehicle for large-scale corporate build out. It must be matched with genuine community ownership, mandated benefits for host communities, stronger transmission planning transparency, and a massive scale-up of batteries and storage. Yes, home battery uptake is growing—60,000 in New South Wales. That is encouraging, but it remains out of reach for many.
If we want a resilient grid, we need distributed storage at scale—not just utility-scale projects but neighbourhood batteries, social housing retrofits and programs that prioritise those who spend the highest proportion of their income on energy. However, I raise concerns with the prospect of streamlining processes. The Greens support efficient planning. We support getting good projects built faster. But streamlining must not mean cutting communities out, weakening environmental protections or overriding local voices. The best and most efficient way to deliver the projects we need is not to bulldoze consultation but to bring communities in early, ensure fair benefit sharing and give people ownership because when communities share in the upside, projects move.
Coal is ageing and volatile. Gas is volatile and expensive. Renewables are cheaper. Storage costs are falling. All the while, climate impacts are accelerating. The real question before the House is not whether solar is popular—it is—but whether we will scale the transition fast enough, fairly enough and publicly enough, because the alternative is a chaotic exit from fossil fuels that leaves workers stranded and communities scrambling.
Read the debate in Hansard here.
11 February 2026