Energy security is crucial to New Zealand’s economic security - and our future prosperity.

New Zealand has extraordinary natural advantages when it comes to energy.

Hydro, geothermal, wind, solar - we have them all, and in abundance.

We have innovative businesses, right here in this room, who are already doing the work to drive New Zealand towards a renewable energy future.

For most of our economy, electrification powered by renewables is already the lowest-cost option available.

The opportunity to build a clean future - to generate our own power here at home, bring down costs, and create good jobs - is not a distant ambition.

It is within reach.

The decisions we make over the next few years will define not just our economy, but the kind of country we hand to the next generation.

And we have to be realistic because the truth is, there is no prosperous future for New Zealand that relies on fossil fuels.

The future is electric. The future is renewable. And the future must be built here.

Recent events have reinforced that.

It’s very unclear how long the war in the Middle East will continue but we know that the economic disruption will be with us long after any peace is secured.

Recent spikes in petrol and diesel prices have added to costs that New Zealanders were struggling with before the crisis began.

But it has brought into sharp focus something many preferred to ignore.

Around 55-60% of our total energy use still comes from fossil fuels, much of which is exposed to the kind of shock we are experiencing right now.

Right now, New Zealand households and businesses spend around $20 billion on fossil fuels every year, most of which are imported.

As a small country at the end of many supply chains, we feel these disruptions more than comparable economies.

There is simply no excuse to leave ourselves this exposed.

We can choose the future

None of us here can determine when this war will end.

But all of us can choose how we respond to the challenges it is creating.

We can choose right now what we are going to do differently as a country.

The only responsible goal for any New Zealand government is to remove, as far as possible, our dependence on imported energy.

Building that national resilience will be a central focus of a Labour Government. And the case for doing so has never been more urgent.

New Zealanders are paying 20% more for their electricity than they were two years ago. Energy costs are increasing at their fastest rate since the 1980s.

Households are feeling it. Businesses are feeling it. Communities are feeling it.

High electricity prices have drained more than $5.2 billion in economic growth over the past decade - slowing job creation and holding us back from where we could be.

And while families and businesses struggle, the big energy companies are reporting record profits.

The system is not working as it should.

Earlier this month the OECD put out a report that made it clear that New Zealand electricity prices are “structurally too high”.

High prices are a persistent drag on household incomes and business competitiveness and the market is not delivering the investment we need in clean, reliable energy.

The OECD also made clear that there is no future in gas for New Zealand. And yet, that is exactly what this Government is tying us to.

The benefits of clean powered electrification are clear – and significant.

Lower prices, supporting households and giving our businesses the resilience they need.

Significant new jobs as we build more home-grown clean energy. Tradespeople should, and will, be the heroes of the energy transition.

And an economy that isn't put at risk every time a crisis breaks out somewhere in the world.

Energy resilience isn't about shielding New Zealand from the worst. It's about enabling us to be our best.

Yet the current government have their heads in the sand.

Energy prices are up, businesses are closing, and the cost of keeping the house warm is through the roof.

Another three years will only make it worse.

When the US Government welcomed New Zealand's "renewed commitment to fossil fuels," that told you everything you need to know about the direction this government is taking us.

They have misled New Zealanders about what it will actually take to bring power bills down.

The idea that scrapping the offshore oil and gas exploration ban is going to help Kiwi households pay their bills is absurd.

No significant gas discoveries have been made in over twenty years. New Zealand’s gas reserves have fallen to their lowest level since records began.

And even if a reserve was found tomorrow, it would take a decade to develop and build.

The government shovelling hundreds of millions of dollars in public subsidies towards oil and gas exploration is an irresponsible gamble that every Kiwi will lose from.

The Government knows this – which is why it has turned overseas.

Not only will National’s planned LNG import terminal be paid for by a tax on every household and business, it will lock us into volatile global market prices for the future.

You cannot lower electricity bills by making supply more expensive and less secure.

But that's exactly what this Government is saying they'll do.

And while they drive up the cost of energy, they are making the transition to clean electricity harder.

They scrapped clean car discounts. They eliminated GIDI which partnered with businesses to decarbonise. They weakened the Emissions Trading Scheme. And they gutted the Climate Emergency Response Fund – stripping out the carbon revenue that was being reinvested into climate action.

The result? New Zealand is being forced back into fossil fuel use.

What we should be doing instead

We can do better. And we must.

Imagine a different path. A New Zealand where towns and cities like Queenstown are fully electrified, powered by clean, renewable energy generated right here at home.

Where businesses invest with confidence because power is clean, affordable and reliable.

Where we don’t send billions offshore for fossil fuels, but instead build energy independence and create local jobs.

That’s the opportunity in front of us.

A Labour Government will be committed to clean energy and an affordable future.

A future in which everyone can prosper – in good jobs, in good health, and in warm, dry homes.

Labour’s approach is simple. Invest in the future - don’t subsidise the past.

The first announcement Labour made was the NZ Future Fund, an investment fund that will back innovative Kiwi businesses, create good, secure jobs and give people a reason to stay and build their future here.

We’ve outlined clean, affordable energy as a priority area for the Future Fund, accelerating new generation, storage, and upgrades to the grid, so power is cheaper and more reliable for homes and firms.

Delivering this will take an active government working in genuine partnership with business, iwi, unions and communities, and that’s exactly what Labour plans to do.

We will be announcing our energy policy very soon. But today, Labour can commit to a number of things.

We can commit to supporting clean, home-grown, renewable energy - accelerating hydro, wind, solar, and geothermal.

We can commit to generating power here at home, reducing emissions, and bringing power bills down.

We can commit to working alongside business and industry to make it happen.

Government cannot do this alone. Our success will depend on strong relationships with people and businesses right across New Zealand – many of whom are here in the room today.

We can commit to the stability that business investment needs. No short-term political tinkering. No coalition in-fighting that undermines confidence and puts us all on the back foot.

We will reinstate the ban on new oil and gas exploration.

We will build energy independence.

We will not proceed with a costly LNG import terminal.

We will expand the work we started putting more solar on Kiwi homes.

No new fossil fuel subsidies.

No weakening the institutions that help businesses electrify.

The future isn’t importing fossil fuels.

The future is building clean energy here.

Government has a vital role to play in building this future – and we intend to play it.

To partner with businesses, to help them electrify, to help them invest, to help them lead.

To support households to make the transition too. I speak from personal experience here. Last year I fully electrified my own home, solar panels, an EV in the driveway, a battery lawn mower – but I confess the only thing I haven’t replaced was the gas BBQ.

I was able to do that because I had ready access to the low-cost capital to make it easy. Too many households don’t have that and I’m determined to change that.

If we get this right, we reduce emissions, and we build a stronger economy.

New Zealand has everything we need to succeed

The only thing holding New Zealand back is a government choosing to go backwards.

We don’t have to accept that. We can choose progress, clean energy, a future without fossil fuels.

Kiwi businesses are already investing in that future and that is such a positive thing. Truly, it gives me hope. It gives me optimism.

So today I say - a Labour Government will not leave our economy exposed to the ruptures of a volatile world.

We will build an economy that works for businesses, for households, and for generations to come.

The future is electric. The future is renewable. And the future must be built here – a future made in New Zealand.