Richard Colbeck (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Finance and Administration) Share this | Hansard source

That will depend entirely on the mix of energy options that the country has before it over that period of time, which is one of the reasons why the Prime Minister—quite rightly—does not rule out any energy generation option. There is obviously going to be a growth in the demand for energy. The indicators demonstrate that quite clearly. No responsible government would take any clean energy generation options off the table. So the answer to Senator Bob Brown’s question is that it really depends on the energy mix. The government’s view is that clean coal, renewables and nuclear all have a part to play not only in meeting that demand but also in reducing CO₂ emissions.