Richard Di Natale (Victoria, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That the Senate supports the closure of the Liddell power station in 2022, as currently planned, and calls on the Government to:

(a) abandon any attempts to extend the life of this aging coal-fired power station;

(b) address any issues of security of supply through means identified by the Australian Energy Market Operator, such as dispatchable renewables, storage and demand management; and

(c) develop a plan for the orderly retirement of coal-fired power stations in Australia.

Question agreed to.

James McGrath (Queensland, Liberal National Party, Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I seek leave to make a short statement.

Gavin Marshall (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Leave is granted for one minute.

James McGrath (Queensland, Liberal National Party, Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The coalition government notes the expert advice of the Australian Energy Market Operator on the importance of base-load power. The coalition government does not support the forced removal of base-load power that may result in higher prices. The coalition government strongly supports coal as a cheap, reliable and affordable supplier of base load energy for the long-term future.

Katy Gallagher (ACT, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I seek leave to make a short statement.

Gavin Marshall (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Leave is granted for one minute.

Katy Gallagher (ACT, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The opposition won't be supporting this motion. We recognise the timing of the future closure of the Liddell power station is a commercial decision for the operator, but all Australians know that power prices are going up right now. The opposition believes that the Prime Minister should be fixing the energy crisis, not blaming others and saying what he might do in five or 10 years. If Mr Turnbull were serious about fixing the energy price he would do three things right now: intervene in the gas market so that more gas stays in Australia for Australians at lower prices; end the war on renewables and implement a clean energy target, which would drive new investment and jobs in energy; and stop the blackouts this summer by developing a strategic energy reserve so that there is enough power when we really need it.

Richard Di Natale (Victoria, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I seek leave to make a short statement.

Gavin Marshall (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Leave is granted for one minute.

Richard Di Natale (Victoria, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Australian Greens also note the report from the regulator, which makes it very clear that any shortfall could be met through increased renewables—solar and wind—and a combination of demand management, efficiency, investment in the grid and smart software, rather than extending the life of this polluting, belching climate-destroying guzzler of a coal-fired power plant.

It is absolutely remarkable that the business community is fleeing coal-fired power because they see it as a bad investment, yet here we have the government—the champions of free market economics—criticising the opposition for wanting to intervene in the marketplace, when here they are adopting some of the most interventionist, backward looking, retrograde policies in the energy area that one could imagine. What hypocrisy! Solar and wind are the answer, not coal.

Malcolm Roberts (Queensland, Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I seek leave to make a short statement.

Leave not granted.

Gavin Marshall (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The question is that general business notice of motion No. 476, standing in the name of Senator Di Natale, be agreed to.