Adam Bandt (Melbourne, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

I rise to introduce the Coal-Fired Power Funding Prohibition Bill 2018. This bill is as environmentally responsible as it is economically responsible.

A primary aim of this bill is to assist in the reduction of Australia's greenhouse gas emissions by preventing the Commonwealth from actively assisting in the construction of new coal-fired power stations, extending the life of existing coal-fired power stations or helping purchase new coal-fired power stations, but it will also protect the Commonwealth and the Australian taxpayer from unnecessary exposure to the significant financial risk associated with providing financial support to potentially stranded assets. It also protects from exposure associated with underwriting of the carbon risk of new coal-fired power generation, which may be significant if a future government takes steps to limit greenhouse gas emissions.

This bill should not be necessary.

If we had a government that took its fiscal responsibilities seriously and took its duties to the taxpayer seriously, as well as taking climate change seriously, it would not be necessary. And if we had a government that behaved in an economically responsible manner and was willing to put in place a sensible climate and energy policy, or indeed any climate and energy policy, this bill would also not be necessary.

But instead it seems that we have a government, on the eve of an election, rushing to hand over large amounts of taxpayer money to either increasingly unreliable and economically unviable ageing coal-fired power stations or, worse, funding a new coal-fired power plant.

It is clear that the Prime Minister, who once hugged a piece of coal in this very chamber, is well and truly in the clutches of the climate-denying bullyboys who've hijacked the coalition's energy policy.

This is all taking place in the context of a changing global and national energy market that's being transformed by the twin technological revolutions of digitalisation and clean renewable energy with storage. This transformation has already made new coal-fired power stations economically unviable and is rapidly replacing the energy production of existing coal-fired power plants.

The Energy Market Operator has a plan for this transition, following the blueprint set out by the Chief Scientist, and there is no role for new coal-fired power plants or extending existing coal-fired power plants in this plan.

Any new coal-fired plant or a plant with an extended life risks being a stranded asset with the taxpayers losing our contribution.

But the risk to the taxpayer doesn't end there. The government has also flagged the possibility of indemnifying coal plants from a future carbon price or from other policies to limit emissions brought in by a future government. This potentially open-ended liability for taxpayers is an irresponsible concoction from the coal-power-obsessed minority in the coalition that tore down a previous Prime Minister and now wants to booby trap climate and energy policy for future governments.

We don't have to look far to see how dangerous to the taxpayer such an eleventh-hour attempt to bind a government can be.

We saw in my state of Victoria what happened with an outgoing coalition government rushing to sign contracts for the East West Link toll road despite the opposition and incoming Labor government making it clear that they opposed the project. The result was more than $1.1 billion in cost to the taxpayer, because of the scrapping of the project.

We now face a similar prospect with the government's rush to sign contracts to underwrite coal-fired power stations.

The reality is the whole world is moving away from coal-fired power.

Solar and wind are now cheaper not only than new coal-fired power but than existing coal as well in many instances. Bloomberg New Energy Finance estimates the cost of renewables dropped by a fifth over the last year and will reach parity with existing coal in the next two years.

The most recent IPCC report from the world scientists says the world must retire two-thirds of its coal plants in just over a decade, by 2030, and close the rest soon after. They warn that unless we accelerate the transition away from coal we face catastrophe. But the government shows no sign of behaving responsibly.

If the government is not prepared to behave responsibly then this power sharing parliament must act.

The underwriting or the indemnifying of new or existing coal-fired power plants by the government must be prevented by this parliament, because the government has made it clear that they potentially want to sign up some of these contracts over summer and we cannot allow this to proceed.

That is the responsible thing to do, and that is what this bill will do. The bill

This bill will prohibit the Commonwealth or an associated Commonwealth body from providing financial assistance to coal-fired power plants in a number of respects.

As I said before, a primary aim of the bill is to assist in the reduction of Australia's greenhouse gas emissions by preventing the Commonwealth from actively assisting in the construction of new coal-fired power stations, extending the life of existing coal-fired power stations or helping purchase new coal-fired power stations.

The bill will also protect the Commonwealth and the Australian taxpayer from unnecessary exposure to the significant financial risk associated with providing financial support to potentially stranded assets. It also protects from exposure associated with what the government has flagged, which is the underwriting the carbon risk of new coal-fired power generation, which could potentially be very significant if a future government takes steps to limit greenhouse gas emissions.

Upon commencement of this bill, the Commonwealth must not provide financial assistance for the building of, refurbishment of, or purchase of coal-fired power stations. This includes the provision of indirect assistance, such as through the underwriting or guarantee of someone else's financial obligations. Exemptions are provided to permit the Commonwealth to exercise its usual regulatory processes, to provide support to workers and communities affected by power station closures, to fund research related to coal-fired power stations generally or to manage the closure of coal-fired power stations.

Section 4 of the bill defines authority of the Commonwealth as an entity or company under the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013 and any other body established for a public purpose under the law of the Commonwealth.

Section 5 prohibits the Commonwealth or an authority of the Commonwealth from providing financial or other support for the purpose of building or refurbishment of a coal-fired power station. The Commonwealth is also prohibited from purchasing or assisting in the purchase or transfer of ownership of a coal-fired power station, but there are some further limited exemptions to that.

Importantly, 'support' in this bill includes those kinds of matters that we know the government wants to press ahead with, potentially over Christmas—those outlined in the government's Underwriting new generation investments consultation paper, as well as other kinds of support, including:

But the bill through section 5 goes on to set out a number of important exemptions including making it clear that the Commonwealth is not prohibited from exercising its usual regulatory functions with respect to coal-fired power stations.

It's also clear in subsection (3) that the Commonwealth is not prohibited from providing transitional assistance to workers who are affected, or who may be affected, by the closure of coal-fired power stations. This is important and something the Greens have been pushing for for a while. We need an authority and we need financial support for those workers and communities that are going to be affect as coal-fired power stations close and we replace them with renewables.

The Commonwealth will also continue to be permitted to fund research by an approved research institute, provided that the research relates to coal-fired power stations generally, and not a particular coal-fired power station.

Of course, the Commonwealth through subsection (4) may assist in managed closures of coal-fired power stations.

No matter what political crisis the government may have got themselves into, responsible governments should not play fast and loose with taxpayers' money on the eve of an election just to try to save their skin or to paper over internal differences.

They should also not be so fiscally irresponsible as to bind future governments to shell out taxpayers' money to big power companies if they decide to change energy policy.

There are many things that this government could have done and still could do to address the problems of climate change and the energy transformation facing our nation.

But propping up ageing coal-fired power stations is not one of them and neither is giving taxpayer money to what will inevitably be a stranded asset in the years to come.

I am sure if the government was willing to see sense in this power-sharing parliament we would be able to work constructively together to put in place the actions that are needed.

In the meantime, unless the government can shrug off the irrational fear of the energy transition promulgated by the Luddites in its ranks it is up to this parliament to prevent the damage they might do on the way out the door.

We still believe it would be possible under a future government to walk away from any deals that the government has made, but the much better way of protecting the taxpayer interest, and the economically and environmentally responsible thing to do, is to not to enter into them in the first place.

I commend the bill to the House.

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