Business leaders lobby for NEG to end Coalition energy fight
TONY Abbott and other rebel MPs were blasted by their Coalition colleagues at a party room meeting today over threats to block the government’s energy policy.
National
Don't miss out on the headlines from National. Followed categories will be added to My News.
REBEL Coalition MPs including Tony Abbott have been blasted by colleagues at a party room meeting today over their threats to block the government’s National Energy Guarantee.
The fiery party room meeting came after the former Prime Minister doubled down on his threat to cross the floor over the energy policy this morning.
Liberal MP Ann Sudmalis, who holds her seat by a margin of just 0.7 per cent, reportedly made a “passionate” speech to colleagues at this morning’s two-hour meeting, warning them inaction on the nation’s energy crisis would cost them the next election.
“The more people stuff around with this issue, the more likely that I won’t be here,” she said.
She also told the backbench critics to “pull your head in,” Fairfax Media reports.
Mr Abbott was one of just four Coalition MPs who raised concerns about the NEG at the party room meeting this morning.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull faced a Labor attack in Question Time today over the Coalition’s infighting on energy.
MORE: Why Abbott is attacking Turnbull’s energy policy
MORE: Aussies lose out as best energy deals hidden
He backed the government’s NEG plan when asked if he would support a new coal-fired power station, saying it was a “technology agnostic” approach that would allow coal to be part of the nation’s energy mix.
“The reality is that coal-fired power is a big part of our energy mix at the moment and will be ... for a very long time and may very well be forever,” Mr Turnbull said.
“The reality is, in the here and now, we need to have cheaper and more reliable power.”
He said the government was “turning the corner” on energy, delivering “more reliable and more affordable power because we are working on it with the benefit of engineering and economics”.
Mr Abbott walked into Question Time 25 minutes late after his threats to cross the floor this morning.
The partyroom meeting this morning came after business leaders from the mining, farming, and manufacturing sectors descended on Canberra to convince the rebel MPs of the merits of the NEG, which aims to push down prices, cut carbon emissions and prevent blackouts by forcing energy retailers to meet a “reliability guarantee” and an “emissions guarantee”.
Asked after the early morning briefing with business leaders whether he would still cross the floor on the NEG, Mr Abbott told 2GB radio reporters: “The short answer is yes”.
“I think that I have an obligation to keep faith with the position the government took to the people in 2013,” Mr Abbott said.
“And don’t forget that what we took to the people in 2013, that the people overwhelmingly endorsed, was scrapping the Carbon Tax as part of ending Labor’s emissions obsession.
“Now my anxiety with the NEG is that it’s more about reducing emissions than it is about reducing price.”
Mr Abbott is part of a just a handful of Coalition MPs opposing the plan.
Two Coalition MPs urged the government to put more emphasis on prices in the NEG policy at the party room meeting today.
Another two MPs requested that the policy go back before the party before it went to the states at a COAG meeting in August.
Twelve other MPs spoke out in support of the plan.
Aside from business leaders, green groups also flocked to Canberra today to protest the NEG, which they claim will put the breaks on Australia’s transition to clean energy in its current form.
The group took aim at the Coalition’s political infighting over energy policy and Mr Abbott’s stance, with a caricature of the former Prime Minister injecting money into a giant lump of coal.
Treasurer Scott Morrison did not appear concerned by Mr Abbott’s threat to cross the floor, telling reporters: “Everyone is jumping the gun on that. Let’s see what happens.”
He said the government was “turning the corner on energy prices” with its energy reforms to date.
Mr Morrison also said business leaders had unanimously delivered a message to Coalition backbenchers this morning that they needed policy certainty after the energy wars of the past decade.
They made the “fairly compelling” point at the briefing that the NEG would be “an important change that will actually reduce cost for business and make sure that business is more competitive,” Mr Morrison said.
Earlier today, Energy Minister Josh Frydenberg vowed the government would “take any action possible” to push down power prices as he fights to end the Coalition’s bitter internal fight over energy policy.
The federal Energy Minister did not deny he was working on another energy policy that would bring extra power into the grid through new coal or gas, as an “add on” reform on top of the NEG that would address his colleagues concerns.
Mr Frydenberg was coy about whether he was working on the “add on”, reported in The Australian , but told Sky News this morning: “My colleagues are absolutely focused on lower power prices and we will as a government take any action possible to deliver those lower power prices.”
He said the “beauty” of the NEG was that it had an all-of-the-above approach, which included a role for coal, gas and an increasing role for renewables.
A senior Coalition source had told The Australian that Mr Frydenberg had assured colleagues he would address their concerns about the NEG and the lack of support for coal.
The Minister invited the senior executives from BlueScope, BHP, the Minerals Council of Australia, the Business Council of Australia, the Australian Industry Group and the National Farmers Federation to Parliament House today to brief Coalition MPs on the need for the NEG.
They addressed more than 35 Coalition backbenchers including Craig Kelly, Mr Abbott, Kevin Andrews and Eric Abetz, who have been outspoken on their concerns about the NEG.
Before the meeting, Mr Kelly, the chair of the backbench energy committee, said he wanted a guarantee from the business leaders that they would not be put at a competitive disadvantage by the NEG.
“We don’t want to do things in this nation’s policy that puts Australia at a comparative disadvantage vis-a-vis their foreign competitors. That would be a disastrous policy outcome,” he said.
Earlier, he told ABC radio: “No one is trying to scupper policy.”
“I agree with the premises of the NEG. But like all policy, the devil is in the detail.”
Mr Kelly claimed the nation’s 100 biggest electricity users, including the groups briefing MPs in Canberra today, may not be able to afford to keep the lights on thanks to the NEG’s “reliability” guarantee.
“This is the big question. For 100 businesses in Australia it appears that reliability means that they will have their power turned off unless they have their own back-up diesel generators or they have some other arrangements with other companies.”
If the Energy Minister can lock in backbench support for the NEG, his next battle will be to convince the states to back the reform at a Council of Australian Governments meeting in August.
Under the NEG, energy retailers would be forced to provide a set amount of dispatchable power from sources such as coal, gas, pumped hydro and batteries in each state.
They would also be required to source a certain amount of power from clean energy generators to meet the emissions guarantee.