Craig Kelly (Hughes, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Secure and affordable energy is the very foundation of our nation's prosperity. It gives me great concern that I read in today's paper an article by Robert Gottliebsen entitled, 'Energy crisis will be worse than expected, with costly blackouts coming', where he notes that without urgent action, with the closing of Hazelwood power station, next summer there will be a 75 per cent chance that residents of not only South Australia and Victoria but also New South Wales will face blackouts—a 75 per cent chance. The reason for this, my colleagues behind me, is the madness and the economic vandalism of the renewable energy target that undermines the viability of the existing baseload power generators in this nation and drives them out of business. That is the entire problem.

A 20 per cent renewable energy target put in by the former Rudd government was an act of complete recklessness. It was done simply because it rhymes—that was the only reason why—and our 23 per cent target is just as damaging. If that is not bad enough, the 50 per cent target that the people on this side of the chamber are pushing is the most reckless, dangerous and incompetent policy this parliament has ever seen. (Time expired)