House debates
Wednesday, 8 February 2017
Questions without Notice
Energy
2:48 pm
Josh Frydenberg (Kooyong, Liberal Party, Minister for the Environment and Energy) Share this | Hansard source
I thank the member for La Trobe for his question and acknowledge that, in his electorate, he has some of Australia's largest potato and apple processors who need reliable energy and affordable energy. They are some of the 63,000 employees in Victoria who are working in the food manufacturing sector and whose jobs are now under threat as a result of rising electricity prices. Recently I met with a delegation of vegetable and dairy manufacturers from Echuca, Shepparton, regional Victoria, some of whom have seen their electricity prices go up more than 50 per cent in the last year alone. That is why we on this side of the House want to have an 'all of the above' approach—a non-ideological approach—which will see coal and gas continue to play a major role in providing baseload power in Australia as well as we transition to a lower emissions future.
Yesterday we heard from those opposite that they have a range of policies which will only drive electricity prices higher and destabilise the system. In fact, the Leader of the Opposition in the Senate thinks one of their main policies is a mongrel—a mongrel and a smokescreen—that is what she thinks of one of their own policies. But we know they have a 50 per cent renewable energy target by 2030, which Bloomberg New Energy Finance has said will require $48 billion of investment, which will inevitably flow on to higher prices for consumers. They also have a policy of wanting the forced closure of coal-fired power stations. The Leader of the Opposition is very excited about putting on a high-viz vest and going and having a photo taken on a worksite, but will the Leader of the Opposition have the courage to go to the member for Shortland's electorate, to Vales Point, and tell the 300 workers there at the coal-fired power station that your policy wants to put them out of work? Will the Leader of the Opposition have the guts to—
Mr Conroy interjecting—
Tibor Majlath
Posted on 9 Feb 2017 10:04 am
Once, not long ago electricity price rises were blamed on Labor's carbon tax. Today, electricity price rises can be blamed on 'ideology' over renewable energy.
Could we, for once, be honest enough and blame the humble 'profit motive' driving privatized businesses over price rices?
Could we, for once, be honest enough and blame the Coalition's failure to commit a portion of the national gas supply as a domestic reserve which should keep prices down for domestic consumers? So far WA is the only state to reserve a portion of its gas supply.
The Minister says we "will see coal and gas continue to play a major role in providing base load power in Australia as well as we transition to a lower emissions future".
If gas prices massively increase as predicted in order to achieve world price parity, then we will only have coal to fall back on.
No ideology at work here. Just a predictably poor effort.