Doubts over future power bill rebates as LNP leaves room for nuclear

The news

Queensland’s new Treasurer and Energy Minister has given the clearest picture yet of the state’s future electricity network, and how much people may have to pay to power homes and business.

Delivering his first major speech in the role on Wednesday, David Janetzki nudged the LNP government’s door open wider to future nuclear generation and said more gas investment was also needed.

He also appeared to walk back support for blanket bill rebates, introduced by the former Labor government, during a speech which also intensified rhetoric about the state’s budget position.

Queensland Treasurer and Energy Minister David Janetzki speaks to journalists in Brisbane after his first major speech in the role.Credit: Matt Dennien

“The public deserves to know the true state of the books, something that has been hidden for almost a decade,” he said of a “warts and all” delayed mid-financial year update he will hand down in late January.

Why it matters

While supporting the energy transition push for net zero emissions by 2050 as part of a national and global effort to halt the worst impacts of climate change, the LNP has differentiated itself from Labor.

The new government vowed to dump renewable energy targets, and flagged changes to targets for interim emissions reduction, as energy providers work through the challenges of a changing grid.

Premier David Crisafulli has said he would not support nuclear energy in the state until it had bipartisan backing federally, repeatedly saying during the campaign it was “not part of our plan”.

That is despite an ongoing push by his federal opposition party mates, under leader Peter Dutton, for nuclear generation – which experts say would be a more expensive and delayed approach.

What they said

While Janetzki used his speech to touch on major project cost overruns, to paint a gloomy picture of the state budget, his comments on the energy transition were more illustrative.

“In Queensland, we are now developing a roadmap for an energy system that is affordable, reliable and sustainable,” he said, noting this would exclude “ideology”.

“We will set our own path to achieve this, that is pragmatic and technologically agnostic.”

Taking questions, Janetzki said this meant “more investment in gas across the country”, and noted the LNP’s now-detailed $1.4 billion pledge to maintain coal power.

But when asked at a brief media conference how the government could be both “technologically agnostic” and “against nuclear”, Janetzki avoided a direct response.

“It’s clear nuclear is not part of our plan, I have to deal with what we face right now,” he said, adding that the government wanted to see more private investment and smaller pumped hydro projects.

On whether all Queenslanders would keep seeing energy bill rebates under the LNP, which endorsed most of Labor’s last budget, Janetzki would only say the budget documents did not include such blanket support.

Crisafulli’s office was contacted for comment.

Another perspective

At an earlier media conference, deputy Labor leader Cameron Dick accused the LNP of preparing to “soften up” residents for a downgraded credit rating, which would be “a tax on all Queenslanders”.