Mr CHESTER (Gippsland—Minister for Veterans' Affairs, Minister for Defence Personnel, Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for the Centenary of ANZAC and Deputy Leader of the House) (15:47): At least there's one section of the previous member's speech I agree with: we do need policy certainty in relation to energy and energy affordability. Reliable, affordable energy is at the heart of our economy and it is at the heart of our household cost of living. It's good for households. It's good for jobs in our communities if we can provide that policy certainty. We need to support an energy mix and get it right. We need a mix of renewable energy and base-load energy, which is provided largely in Australia at the moment by coal-fired power stations. We also need to do our share to meet the emissions reduction target and get that balance right. But I'm afraid that, when it comes to getting the balance right, there is one very clear fact when it comes to energy policy and the Australian Labor Party—that is, it has sold out the blue-collar workers for green votes. Throughout the 10 years I've been in this place, I'm have been amazed at the manner in which the Labor Party, which once proudly represented the blue-collar workers in my electorate of Gippsland, particularly around the Latrobe valley, has vilified power station workers—vilified them and labelled them as 'dirty big polluters'. Opposition members interjecting— Mr CHESTER: I invite the members who interjected to come to my electorate and have a meeting with some of the power station workers, and ask them, ask their families and ask their kids how they felt about the language used by the Australian Labor Party when it was in government. You only need to look at the result in the seat of Morwell over the past 20 years. The Labor Party used to hold the seat of Morwell with a clear majority on primary votes. Over the last 20 years, the Labor Party vote in the seat of Morwell has dropped by 20 per cent on the primary vote, and that's because you sold out the blue-collar workers in the Latrobe Valley. Mr Conroy: Where was the National vote? It was on 10 per cent! Mr CHESTER: I hear the member interjecting. At the last election the Labor primary dropped by another two per cent. Mr Conroy: Yes, but what was the local National Party's official vote? Mr CHESTER: I accept the interjection by the member opposite. Right now in the seat of Morwell, the count is about 50-50 between the former National Party member turned Independent, against the Labor Party candidate. Labor's primary vote has dropped 20 per cent in the last 20 years. As a local MP, I'm very proud to stand up for the power station workers in the Latrobe Valley. I stand up for the workers at the Australian Paper mill as well. I stand up for the workers at the timber mills that the Andrews government has sought to shut down as well. When it comes to natural resource management in the seat of Gippsland, the Australian Labor Party has sold out blue-collar workers in their enthusiasm to try and harvest green votes in the city. It's like they’ve swapped their high-vis vests and steel-capped boots for skivvies and canvas loafers. They’ve sold out every blue-collar worker they can. This government, this side of the House, is determined to provide reliable and affordable base-load energy— Mr Brian Mitchell: There are plenty of hydro workers in high-vis. Mr CHESTER: because we understand it underpins regional jobs. The DEPUTY SPEAKER ( Mr Hogan ): The member for Lyons is warned. Mr CHESTER: In my electorate we're quite literally at the coalface. The four large power stations in the Latrobe Valley—sorry; there are only three coal-fired power stations in the Latrobe Valley now, because the Andrews government worked so hard to shut down Hazelwood—are absolutely critical to the economic wealth of Victoria and much of the south-east corner of Australia. So we are quite literally at the coalface of this debate. When it comes to the other major providers of jobs in the Gippsland electorate, they too are dependent upon reliable, affordable base-load energy. The dairy farmers in my electorate obviously have a high dependency on good, cheap, reliable energy. The food-processing companies, which employ hundreds of workers in Gippsland and the Latrobe Valley, rely on affordable base-load energy. The timber mills—the ones left after the Andrews government cut their supply of timber—rely on base-load energy to be available to them 24 hours a day. We need a balanced approach to this issue. Unfortunately, the Labor Party, with their absolute obsession with winning green votes in the city, have failed to stand up for the jobs of blue-collar workers in regions like the Latrobe Valley. Mr Brian Mitchell: You're so two-dimensional. Mr CHESTER: The member opposite can interject as much as he likes. In fact, he's welcome any time to come to Gippsland and the Latrobe Valley. I'll take him round. We can meet with some of those workers and ask them what they think about Labor's policies in relation to energy in our region. I invite any of those members opposite to come and join me. We'll go round the power stations and talk to people about their views on the Labor Party's efforts to sell out their jobs in the search for green votes in the city. Those opposite have gone quiet because they know it's true. There was a 20 per cent drop in their primary vote in the state seat. As the National Party in that seat, we receive a primary vote in the order of 50 per cent in many towns in the Latrobe Valley. I'll make just one other point. There's actually no Australian solution to climate change. We emit less than two per cent of total global emissions, so there's no Australian solution. We do need to do our share to meet the emissions reduction targets, but there is no Australian solution. It is misleading to our young people to suggest there is. We don't need to mug our economy. We don't need to punish households. We don't need to set unrealistic targets that drive investment offshore and shut down our manufacturing sector, which, I'm afraid, is the Labor Party's plan for energy policy in this country.