Energy

Where we stand

One Nation Tasmania believes energy is essential infrastructure, not a vehicle for ideology. Every energy decision should face the same tests: will it keep power reliable and affordable? Will it keep the lights on? Will it strengthen Tasmania? Net Zero targets, renewable mandates, subsidies and mainland market priorities should never come before the interests of the Tasmanian people.

Tasmania's hydroelectric system, water resources and strategic energy infrastructure are assets built up over generations. They must remain under Tasmanian control and serve Tasmanians first. We will not accept a future where Tasmania is treated simply as a battery for the mainland while local households, farmers, businesses and industries carry the costs and risks.

We support a technology-neutral approach based on what actually works. Hydro, gas, storage, nuclear and emerging technologies should be judged on reliability, affordability, security and full system cost, not political fashion. No technology deserves a blank cheque because it carries the right label, and no practical option should be ruled out because it offends an ideology.

The issues

Tasmania should have an enormous energy advantage. Generations of Tasmanians built a hydroelectric system that should deliver affordable, reliable power for our households, farms, businesses and industries. Instead, power bills keep rising while governments reshape our energy system around mainland markets, expensive infrastructure and politically driven energy targets.

In 2024–25, Tasmania imported 1,983 GWh of electricity from the mainland while exporting just 433 GWh, according to Tasmanian energy market reporting. At the same time, the combined cost of Marinus Link Stage 1 and associated North West transmission infrastructure has climbed above $5 billion.

Tasmanians are being asked to carry more cost and more risk while the benefits of the system they built are increasingly directed elsewhere. That means higher pressure on household budgets, less certainty for businesses and major employers, and a growing risk that Tasmania loses the energy advantage that should be helping our state prosper.

Our priorities

1. Put Tasmanians first on power prices. Make affordability the first test of energy policy and require governments to consider the full cost from generation all the way to the customer when making decisions.
2. Protect our hydro, water and strategic assets. Keep Tasmania's strategic energy assets under Tasmanian control and manage our hydro system and water resources for long-term energy security, households, agriculture, industry and communities.
3. Protect Tasmanians from mainland energy costs. Challenge interconnector and transmission arrangements that shift unjustified costs or risks onto Tasmanian households and businesses, and ensure any further expansion delivers a clear benefit to Tasmania.
4. Strengthen Tasmanian energy sovereignty and security. Reduce Tasmania's exposure to decisions made for mainland electricity markets and maintain sufficient on-island generation, backup and system capability to withstand drought, outages and emergencies.
5. Put reliability before Net Zero ideology. Move away from climate-driven energy policy and assess every technology and project on affordability, reliability, security and full system cost rather than whether it satisfies a political emissions target.
6. Protect Tasmania's power and water from unchecked large-scale demand. Require major new energy users, including data centres and other power-intensive developments, to demonstrate a genuine Tasmanian benefit and prove they will not undermine electricity security, water security or existing industries.
7. Use our energy advantage to build Tasmanian industry. Make affordable and reliable power a competitive advantage for manufacturing, mineral processing, agriculture, small business and major employers, keeping investment and skilled jobs in Tasmania instead of exporting the advantage away.

What this means for Tasmanians

For households: an energy system focused first on affordable bills, reliable supply and protecting families from unnecessary project and transmission costs.

For small businesses and farmers: greater certainty over power and water, with energy decisions that recognise the pressure rising costs place on businesses that actually produce, employ and invest.

For workers and major industries: a government determined to use Tasmania's energy advantage to keep manufacturing, processing, investment and skilled jobs in this state.

For landholders and regional communities: a genuine say over developments that affect homes, farms, landscapes and local infrastructure, with stronger expectations that developers carry the consequences of what they build.

For future generations: Tasmania's hydro, water and strategic energy assets protected and managed for long-term security and prosperity, rather than sacrificed to short-term political targets.

Tasmania's power system was built by Tasmanians. It should work for Tasmanians first.

What comes next

This baseline policy sets out where One Nation Tasmania stands on energy and the priorities that will guide our detailed policy work.

We will develop specific commitments through consultation with Tasmanians, energy workers and engineers, households, farmers, businesses, major industry, landholders and regional communities, together with careful assessment of costs, legal powers and what has worked elsewhere. Further policy releases will follow as this work progresses.

If you pay a power bill, work in the energy system, run a business or farm, or live in a community facing major energy development, we want to hear from you.