By Mike Foley
Dan Tehan, the new opposition spokesman for energy, is determined to continue Peter Dutton’s attacks on the Albanese government’s vision for a vast expansion of renewable energy, warning it will trash the economy and hurt homes and businesses.
Tehan has signalled the Sussan Ley-led opposition will pressure Labor over the cost and risks of its plan for a grid almost entirely powered by renewables.
Opposition spokesman for energy and emissions reduction Dan Tehan at Parliament House this week.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen
“They’re happy to trash our economy, trash our energy security, put enormous pressure on households while they’re seeking to achieve this target,” Tehan said, in referencing years of rising power bills under the Albanese government.
Voters decisively rejecting the Coalition’s plan to slow the rollout of wind and solar farms in favour of building state-owned nuclear power stations and Tehan’s job in reshaping energy policy will not be made any easier by the Nationals.
The junior Coalition partner has kicked off its own internal review of the nation’s net zero by 2050 target, pushed by noted critic of the policy Matt Canavan.
Australia’s commitment to net zero has been contentious for the conservative parties since the Abbott government signed Australia up to the Paris Agreement in 2015.
The goal is a centrepiece of the deal agreed to by 195 countries. It aims to restrict global warming to 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels and limit the worst impacts of climate change.
The Dutton Coalition remained committed to the goal at the past election, fearing a voter backlash. But speculation is mounting that the Nationals party room will vote to ditch net zero, and in doing so embolden right-wing Liberal MPs to call for their party to follow suit.
However, Tehan signalled an intent to stake out some of the centre in the energy landscape.
“We have to do our part when it comes to dealing with climate change, and that means we have to reduce emissions,” he said.
But he is not shifting from the economic attacks that the former Dutton opposition levelled at the government’s green energy goal to replace Australia’s coal plants in coming decades, reach 82 per cent renewable supply in the electricity grid by 2030 and achieve net zero emissions by 2050.
Tehan said the cost of Australia’s commitment to net zero would depend on its economic impact.
“This idea of net zero at any cost is something that we don’t think is the right approach.”
The Albanese government campaigned on a vision to transform the economy into a green energy powerhouse, underpinned by an electricity grid almost entirely powered by renewable sources, backed up by batteries, hydroelectric dams and gas-burning power stations.
Dutton’s election pitch included the rejection of the Albanese government’s “unachievable” emissions reduction goals and opposition to the build-out of renewable energy, which would mean thousands of kilometres of extra transmission lines, due to its impact on farmland.
He proposed to build a taxpayer-funded fleet of seven nuclear power plants. Coalition candidates in electorates chosen to host reactors like Calare, Fairfax and Hunter saw swings against them in May.
New Liberal leader Sussan Ley has declared that for the Coalition to be electable it must appeal to middle Australia. She told this masthead’s Inside Politics podcast on Friday that the opposition would deliver climate action.
“We got smashed at the last election, and all of our policies are up for review,” Ley said.
“Our energy policy will be underpinned by two fundamental things: our responsibility in the face of the global challenge of climate change to reduce emissions and that we must have a stable, reliable energy grid so that households and businesses can have affordable electricity.”
Tehan has set up his own energy policy working group of senior Liberal and Nationals MPs, separate to the Nationals’ standalone review, but downplayed the prospect of a rift.
“I welcome it,” he said. “They have policy groups that are set up on issues all the time. This is something they did in the last term of government, and even before that when we were in government. So this is not unusual.”
However, Tehan is in no rush to reveal his hand.
“We’ll assess where the government is at in 18 months and 2 years and then work out what we can do. It’s a mess which seems to be getting bigger and bigger, and we’re going to have to understand the scale of that as then we set out to look at our approach.”
In the meantime, he would highlight the government’s flaws.
“We need to focus now on what is the cost of Labor’s transition, rather than detailing what is the exact cost of a nuclear policy that we might take.
“Then we can work out what we think is the most cost-effective way we can go about our policy.”
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