We are ‘heading off a cliff, says Labor MP Meryl Swanson

Paterson MP Meryl Swanson told Labor MPs she was worried the party was heading ‘off a cliff’ at the next election.

Labor MP Meryl Swanson.

Labor’s Meryl Swanson has told fellow MPs she is worried the party is heading “off a cliff” at the next election, as Anthony Albanese opens up another stoush with the Coalition on energy ­policy.

With Scott Morrison targeting three seats in the NSW Hunter Valley, Ms Swanson — the MP for Paterson, which is based in the region — addressed Tuesday morning’s caucus meeting and told colleagues she was concerned about Labor’s prospects.

Her comments followed a primary vote swing of 7 per cent in the state by-election in the Upper Hunter on Saturday.

Among the concerns raised by Ms Swanson was Labor’s decision to criticise companies that ­profited from JobKeeper, arguing targeted businesses such as Harvey Norman were popular with consumers.

Mr Albanese said it was justified Labor was talking about how taxpayer funds were spent.

“If we gave the sort of money that this government did to people who didn’t need it, we would have been smashed,” he told MPs.

Sources said Mr Albanese also took thinly veiled swipes at Hunter MP Joel Fitzgibbon by declaring it was important Labor stayed on message.

In a separate caucus stoush, Mr Fitzgibbon took aim at opposition energy spokesman Chris Bowen over Labor’s decision to oppose expanding the remit of the Australian Renewable ­Energy Agency.

Mr Bowen told caucus Labor would use parliament to try to block new regulations that allow ARENA to invest in technology such as hydrogen and carbon capture and storage.

Mr Fitzgibbon said the decision was bad politics and would give people in regional areas the impression that Labor was blocking funding to jobs projects, ­including for electric vehicle ­infrastructure.

The Greens have been given legal advice showing it was illegal for ARENA to expand its remit through regulation rather than legislation, setting the scene for a potential legal challenge.

Bureaucrats from the Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources in Senate estimates hearings on Tuesday said their legal advice was that the remit of ARENA could be changed through regulation.

“I’ll give you a hint. The ‘R’ in ARENA stands for renewable. That’s its job. And that’s the job Labor will defend,” Mr Bowen said. With Labor opposing a $600m gas plant in the Hunter Valley because it does not “stack up”, Snowy Hydro chief executive Paul Broad said the business case for the project would be made public within two months.

Mr Broad told Senate estimates hearings on the business case would show a “double-digit” rate of return, in a rebuke to Mr Bowen who opposed the plant on the eve of the Upper Hunter by-election. “We are in the middle of some tricky negotiations to purchase equipment. Once that’s done, We will make it available,” Mr Broad said.

Mr Bowen on Tuesday ­accused the government of not releasing the business case ­because the project was not financially viable.

“This is not about reducing prices. Snowy Hydro is emphasising profit maximisation,” he said.