Labor states go it alone on energy target

Queensland, South Australia, Victoria and the ACT will push ahead with the design of a clean energy target.

Former Prime Minister Tony Abbott.

Queensland, South Australia, Victoria and the ACT will push ahead with the design of a clean energy target despite the Turnbull government’s signal it will retreat from the proposal, as the Coalition faces the prospect of an election showdown on climate policy.

While government sources yesterday speculated a final position on the CET could be delivered within weeks, Bill Shorten seized on the apparent retreat to target Malcolm Turnbull’s authority by claiming Tony Abbott was “still calling the shots”.

“Turnbull’s just simply too weak to take him on,” the Opposition Leader said. “Turnbull is paralysed by fear of infighting in the Liberal Party and he can’t do anything meaningful, meanwhile Australia has an energy price crisis and an energy supply crisis.”

Speaking at a global warming policy forum in London, Mr ­Abbott revived his previous scepticism of climate change science by arguing global warming was “probably doing good” and likening environmentalists to “primitives” who killed goats to “appease the volcano gods”.

While Labor MPs tried to link the shift away from a CET to Mr Abbott’s ongoing policy activism, the move was welcomed by the Coalition backbench, with ­Nationals senator Matt Canavan arguing the modelling behind the CET by Chief Scientist Alan Finkel was “rubbery at best”.

NSW Liberal MP Craig Kelly also backed Mr Abbott’s warning for Australia not to become captured by a “post-Christian theology” dominated by green “dogma”. “No matter what we do here in Australia with our emissions, it’s not going to change the weather; it’s not going to change the temperature of the globe; it’s not going to prevent bad storms,” he told Sky News.

Mr Kelly also refused to rule out a comeback by Mr Abbott, ­although he said that Mr Turnbull would lead the Coalition to the next election.

Treasury spokesman Chris Bowen indicated Labor was prepared to turn energy policy into a battleground issue at the next federal poll, warning a lack of bipartisanship could undermine investment certainty for the electricity sector.

“What we would rather do is go to the next election providing the stability of a framework so that ­investors know regardless of who wins, they know the rules,” he said.

The shift away from a CET risks throwing the government into conflict with the Labor opposition, the states and the major ­energy companies who fear ­investment certainty for the sector will be sacrificed.

The Labor states of South Australia, Victoria, Queensland and the ACT will consider design ­options for the CET at the end of the month when they receive the findings of an Australian Energy Market Commission report.

The report was commissioned in July, with Victorian Energy Minister Lily D’Ambrosio yesterday saying: “We’re not waiting for Malcolm Turnbull to show some leadership and we’re not waiting for the Liberal infighting to stop.”

Queensland Labor Energy Minister Mark Bailey told The Australian: “Queensland, Victoria, South Australia and ACT have asked the AEMC to develop design options for a CET.

“We will review this modelling along with the other states and territories once we receive it later this month ... Our preference is for the Turnbull Government to stop their political infighting and get on with the job of implementing the final finding of the Finkel Review — a national Clean Energy Target.”

Mr Abbott’s comments were yesterday attacked by international figures including former British Labour leader Ed Miliband, who likened the former prime minister to Donald Trump.

Canadian Environment Minister Catherine McKenna said Mr Abbott was “wrong and irresponsible”.