Jonathon Duniam (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Forestry and Fisheries) Share this | Hansard source

The government is supporting new electricity generation projects in North and Central Queensland which will drive down power prices, improve reliability and support a stronger economy. Our approach to energy technology is neutral, drawing on coal, gas and renewable energy sources. At the last election we committed $10 million to address supply and affordability issues for energy-intensive and trade-exposed customers in North and Central Queensland. Industries like aluminium smelting and refining, and cement, sugar and copper processing all rely on low-cost, reliable energy and employ tens of thousands of Queenslanders. Part of our plan includes a commitment to a number of feasibility studies for new generation projects. Those projects will need to stack up and make commercial sense to get private sector investment and necessary state government approvals. We won't stand in the way of a private company that wants to build a new power station if it has all of the relevant approvals.