Malcolm Turnbull (Wentworth, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

The Finkel report is a report to governments, to COAG. We thank Dr Finkel for his work, and the members of his panel who contributed to it. The honourable member should understand that what Dr Finkel proposes as a clean energy target does not penalise coal. It does not prohibit the construction of a coal-fired power station or indeed a gas-fired power station. What he seeks to do is to provide incentives for lower-emissions technologies, including, but not exclusively, renewables.

The fundamental challenge that the honourable member faces is that he hails from the state of South Australia. He comes from a state where a complete failure of planning has resulted in the most expensive and least secure electricity in Australia. He comes from a state which has seen the closure of base-load power, with not a unit of storage or backup to put in its place. So the honourable member's fellow South Australians know full well what happens when energy policy is driven by ideology and politics, as opposed to engineering and economics.

We face a real challenge in energy policy in this country. We are about to become the largest exporter of LNG, yet we have had a shortage of gas on the east coast of Australia. My government is taking decisive action to address it. We face that challenge. What has caused it? Politics—state governments refusing to allow the exploration of gas and the development of gas resources.

Mr Watts interjecting—

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