Gas and coal are ‘fuels of the 20th century’: Butler

Labor’s Mark Butler says coal and gas ‘won’t underpin continued prosperity’ as he fights off internal calls to talk up the party’s support of fossil fuels.

Labor’s energy spokesman, Mark Butler, says coal and gas ‘come with a huge cost’. Picture: AAP

Coal and gas “won’t underpin continued prosperity” for Australia, Opposition energy spokesman Mark Butler says, as he fights off internal calls to talk up Labor’s support of fossil fuels.

With the Morrison government talking up a gas-led recovery from the COVID-19 crisis, Mr Butler said coal and gas “come with a huge cost that to this day isn’t reflected in their price or in government policy”.

“We found ourselves with plentiful coal and gas in the 20th century, making us one of the most prosperous societies in human history on the back of these fossil fuels,” Mr Butler told a forum held by the Carbon Market Institute on Wednesday.

“Now, 20 years into the 21st century, we know that coal and gas won’t underpin continued prosperity, whether for Australia or the rest of the world.

“The cost is the impact that these fuels have on our climate, and by extension on our health, our security, our safety and of course our continued prosperity.”

With resources spokesman Joel Fitzgibbon pushing for Labor to back new gas infrastructure, Mr Butler took aim at people who “cling to these fuels as if a future where their use winds down and eventually ends is also a world where our shared prosperity ends”.

“That is a depressing and shortsighted way to look at what makes Australia great, and I’m sure it is fundamentally incorrect,” Mr Butler said.

“While the relentless march of technology and progress will mean the importance of our historical strengths in coal and gas will dissipate over time, we have more to be confident about than ever.

“Because this will be the century of sunshine and wind, of hydrogen and lithium, and of smart scientists, creative business people and engaged communities and consumers.

“In all of those, Australia stands extremely well positioned; if anything, even better positioned than we did at the dawn of the fossil fuel age.”

Mr Butler and Mr Fitzgibbon have clashed since the election on climate and energy policy as the party debates its stance.

Mr Butler wants Labor to showcase its differences on policy with the government, while Mr Fitzgibbon is pushing for the party to reach a political settlement on the issue.

On the weekend, a senior official at the CFMEU’s mining and energy division, a key support base of Mr Albanese, endorsed Mr Fitzgibbon’s climate change and energy proposals, which include embracing the government’s 2030 targets and backing taxpayer underwriting of gas infrastructure.

Peter Jordan, president of the CFMEU’s NSW energy and northern mining division, took aim at Mr Butler and assistant energy spokesman Pat Conroy for “running around the countryside supporting the Greens view on life” after they endorsed an alliance between the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union and the Labor Environment Action Network.

Mr Jordan also accused Mr Butler of being “the type of shadow minister who says one thing privately and another thing publicly”.

“We need him to come out and say, ‘Yes, we support gas’,” Mr Jordan said.

“Has he publicly come out and said he supports the Narrabri project? He might privately say he supports it; why doesn’t he publicly?”

Mr Butler told The Australian Labor supported “responsible onshore gas development subject to rigorous, independent, science based environmental approvals”.

“Community concerns about developments also need to be addressed through genuine community engagement,” Mr Butler said.