Climate-push Liberal minister Don Harwin’s coal links

NSW Energy Minister Don Harwin invited the state’s biggest coalminers to a $990-a-head Lib fundraising dinner last month.

NSW Energy Minister Don Harwin speaks to the media during a press conference in Adelaide yesterday.

NSW Energy Minister Don Harwin, who yesterday attacked Scott Morrison’s energy policy and is lobbying for more renewables and emissions cuts, invited the state’s biggest coalminers to a $990-a-head Liberal Party fundraising dinner last month.

The Australian can reveal Mr Harwin invited Glencore, Malabar Coal, Centennial Coal, Alinta Energy, Bengalla, Whitehaven and AGL to a dinner at Sydney restaurant Lucio’s. The function on November 29 was to celebrate Mr Harwin’s 20th anniversary of his election to the NSW parliament and featured special guest Gladys Berejiklian and nine frontbench colleagues, including Andrew Constance, Rob Stokes, Brad Hazzard and Matt Kean.

The Australian can also reveal Mr Harwin, who yesterday failed to secure Council of Australian Governments agreement for a road map to net zero emissions by 2050, wrote in the Hunter Valley based At The CoalFace magazine about his support of coalminers.

“As a state, we are entering the new year with a strong outlook for the industry and positive resolution for our miners, thankful for their commitment in keeping the Christmas lights on and the beers chilled this holiday season — a tradition NSW frankly cannot ­afford to lose,” Mr Harwin wrote.

Don Harwin’s anniversary celebration invitation.

The invitation to Mr Harwin’s fundraiser was accompanied by an Archibald Prize finalist portrait of the leading moderate MP, who is close to lobbyist Michael ­Photios.

Mr Harwin, who acted as the NSW Legislative Council president for almost six years, yesterday urged the Prime Minister to revive Malcolm Turnbull’s ­national energy guarantee, saying Australia must “move forward on climate change”.

The NSW Minerals Council lashed his plan to achieve net zero emissions by 2050 because it would likely cause a “recession”.

It also said time was running out in NSW to plan for the replacement of lost generation ­capacity arising from the closure of the Liddell coal-fired power station in 2022 — an outcome that could force NSW to become reliant on interconnectors feeding intermittent renewable power from Queensland and Victoria.

An independent analysis of the NSW government’s net zero emissions target conducted by the University of Queensland’s Energy Initiative described it as “an exercise in heroic futility” because it would have no measurable impact on the global climate. The analysis also warned there was no guarantee international emitters would follow NSW’s example and could weigh down the state’s economy with significant costs.

Mr Harwin has also come under pressure to fast-track gas reserv­es across the state, including near Narrabri, which have the potentia­l to supply up to 65 per cent of the state’s gas needs and drive down emissions.

“We take a technology-neutral approach to energy policy in NSW,” his spokeswoman said.

Asked why the Narrabri gas project had not been fast-tracked, Mr Harwin said: “The Narrabri project is currently going through the normal planning process.”

His spokeswoman yesterday would not confirm which coal and energy companies had attended his fundraiser, and referred The Australian, which obtained a list of invitees, to the NSW Liberal Party.

A NSW Liberal Party spokesman did not respond to a request in relation to who attended or how much money was raised. “The NSW Liberal Party fully complies with our obligations under Commonwealth and state electoral funding laws, and declares donations in line with those obligations under the relevant legislation,” the spokesman said.

In response to questions about his piece in the coal magazine, Mr Harwin said there was “absolutely” a ­future for coal in the state.

Industry sources said a “lack of political courage” was fuelling the Coalition’s stalling tactics on gas. “They’re worried about their region­al seats. They should be worried about opening up the gas fields and driving down prices,” one source said.

Pushing back against criticism from the NSW Minerals Council, run by Mike Baird’s former chief of staff Stephen Galilee, Mr Harwin said the government would “make a sensible transition to a cleaner-energy future”. “Coal still has a big role to play for decades to come. What is important is our transition is ­orderly and the NSW ­govern­ment has consistently advocated a technology-neutral ­approach.’’

Mr Harwin this morning was forced to deny he supports Labor-style emissions targets.

Mr Harwin said he had long supported Malcolm Turnbull’s national energy guarantee but he did not want emissions reduction targets above 45 per cent as proposed by Bill Shorten.

“I agree with Angus Taylor. The Labor Party’s targets are too much, too fast,” he told ABC radio.

“And will lead to substantial upward pressure on prices and cause a reliability problem.

“The fact that I support an emissions obligation doesn’t mean I support the targets that Labor have put in place. They are as much of a risk as the fact that we don’t have a NEG at all.”

This morning, Mr Harwin also refused to say whether he told the NSW cabinet about his planned op-ed in Nine newspapers and his motion at COAG.

“You never discuss what happens in cabinet … All of the policy positions that I’ve been advocating are consistent with the positions that have been taken by cabinet in NSW,” he told ABC radio.

“I think the Premier’s comments yesterday in support of the stance I took make it very clear what our position is.”