Coal to power Queensland ‘as long as sensible and needed’

Queensland’s energy future will remain based on coal, Treasurer David Janetzki has told a resource industry conference, as he pledged to extend the life of the state’s coal-fired power stations.

Janetzki, also Queensland’s energy minister, was among the speakers at the Australian Energy Producers Conference in Brisbane on Tuesday, which attracted more than 2000 attendees.

The LNP government would take a more aggressive approach to using fossil fuels, he said, and would extend the use of gas and coal.

Queensland Treasurer David Janetzki addresses the Australian Energy Producers Conference in Brisbane.

“[Coal-fired power stations] will remain open as long as it is economically sensible and systematically needed, not [closed on] an arbitrary date to fill a headline for a day,” he said.

His comments came a day after the Queensland government cancelled the Moonlight Range Wind Farm proposed near Rockhampton, which would have seen 88 wind turbines installed and generated enough energy to power 260,000 homes annually.

Speaking on Monday, Deputy Premier Jarrod Bleijie said 88 per cent of locals opposed the project.

The Moonlight Range Wind Farm – as depicted in this development application image – has been scrapped. Credit: Moonlight Range Wind Farm

“The local government in Rockhampton did not support it, they had no community buy-in, there was limited consultation to start, [and] it was assessed on two-codes-old [legislation],” he said.

Bleijie put other wind farm projects on hold earlier in the year, calling for greater scrutiny on new renewable energy builds. He said the state was expected to pass new legislation in several weeks’ time that would require social impact assessments for renewable energy projects.

Two wind farm projects in Bungaban and Wongalee were approved this year, and the state government was expected to decide on another project in Theodore shortly.

Another speaker at Tuesday’s conference was Woodside chief executive Meg O’Neill, whose company is awaiting a verdict on whether it will be allowed to extend its North West Shelf Project in Western Australia – one of the world’s largest liquefied natural gas sources.

Approving the project and other developments, including Santos’ Narrabri Gas Project in NSW, would be vital to addressing the nation’s energy needs and preventing gas shortfalls, O’Neill said.

“With the new federal parliament elected, it is an opportunity to finally cut red and green tape to simplify and streamline Australia’s approval system,” she said.

The calls for more gas projects come weeks after the re-election of the federal Labor government, which has a target of 82 per cent renewable energy in the national grid by 2030.

Federal Resources Minister Madeleine King told the conference the administration had heard the industry’s desire for faster approvals but would adopt a careful approach.

“The entire Australian government has heard your message that environment approvals are complex and lengthy. Addressing this issue is a priority for this government,” she said.

“Commercial decisions and joint venture negotiations are also complex and lengthy, and subject to change. Not all delays can be attributed to government regulation.”

King dismissed the Coalition’s gas reservation policy during the election campaign as a “thought bubble”, but said the government would consider regulations to prevent gas shortages in the domestic market.

AAP, with Catherine Strohfeldt

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