I discuss the future of the Munmorah Power Station site and its role in shoring up our State's energy future. Munmorah Power Station played a key part in New South Wales' energy history. Residents across the Central Coast and Lake Macquarie worked at the site for decades. Generations of families worked at the site, as it became ingrained in their identity. Delta Electricity retired the station in 2012. The plant's demolition, in 2017, is the largest power station demolition to take place in our nation's history. Since the demolition, the site has remained unused.

In February, as we all know, Origin Energy announced that the country's largest coal-fired power station, Eraring Power Station, could close in 2025. Following this announcement, the Government committed to building a 700‑megawatt super battery, to ensure that the State continues to have access to a sufficient energy supply. The super battery would be the Southern Hemisphere's largest stand-by network battery and, along with other transmission upgrades, would enable Sydney, Newcastle and Wollongong residents to have greater access to energy from existing electricity generation. Given that the super battery project is centric to the Central Coast and Lake Macquarie communities, it would be logical for the Government to locate it at the Munmorah Power Station site. As I previously shared, this site has been remediated since it was demolished.

Much of the infrastructure needed to support the battery is already in place. If the Government were to make use of existing infrastructure, it would not only repurpose the Lake Munmorah site but also save a significant amount of money and resources. The battery would also take advantage of the Hunter-Central Coast Renewable Energy Zone, known as the REZ. That will play an integral part in ensuring that electricity remains reliable and affordable in the future with the closure of coal-fired power stations. The REZ has received over $100 billion in investor interest and will be the beating heart of the region's new clean energy economy. The Hunter-Central Coast REZ is also the only renewable energy zone that has both energy producing and consuming proposals.

I know that the proposed projects will hit the ground running with the location of the super battery at the Lake Munmorah site. Future projects like offshore wind, which is predicted to take place in a decade, also have exciting potential and will benefit from the battery. The Hunter-Central Coast REZ is a Labor success story that followed amendments made to the Electricity Infrastructure Investment Bill 2020. I thank the Treasurer, and Minister for Energy for his involvement in that process and for recognising that our State's energy future will be driven by the Hunter and the Central Coast.

Placing the battery at Lake Munmorah will also boost the local job market. Several jobs will be generated during the construction of the battery, and up to 14 ongoing jobs will be created. As the people of the Central Coast and Lake Macquarie have long been employed in the energy industry, the jobs will provide employment and financial security as we begin the journey of revolutionising our energy grid. Not only will there be 14 ongoing jobs but also there will be jobs generated in the manufacturing of the battery that will help unlock the manufacturing potential of this site to deliver secure, good-paying jobs on the coast. Everyone in this House knows that I am a supporter of the manufacturing industry and am very excited about the potential this battery has to deliver jobs in my community. In fact, I would like to see this location become a jobs hub for renewable energy.

In line with the Government's expressions of interest period, I wrote to the Treasurer urging him and the Government to install the battery at the Lake Munmorah site and noting that he will see the benefits of locating the battery there as existing infrastructure will be utilised, it will take advantage of the region's REZ and provide jobs to the people of the Central Coast and Lake Macquarie. I encourage the Government to seriously consider this request and install the Waratah Super Battery at Lake Munmorah station. This is a very exciting opportunity to see the past energy supply become the future energy supply for the residents of New South Wales.