Liberal Party had been taken over by climate denialists: Bill Shorten

Bill Shorten has indicated the ALP is prepared to adopt features of the government’s junked NEG if it wins power.

A screenshot of opposition leader Bill Shorten being interviewed on ABC TV.

Bill Shorten has confirmed Labor is prepared to adopt the government’s junked national energy guarantee if it wins power, as he declared the Liberal Party had been taken over by “climate denialists”.

The Opposition Leader said the framework of the NEG could be used by a future Labor government to create a policy that would lower carbon emissions.

“The government did some work on this national energy guarantee and we are prepared to use that as part of our framework going forward. That’s not our final position, I hasten to add, and we’ll have consultation and discussion with my colleagues,” Mr Shorten told the ABC.

"People are sick and tired of the climate change wars," @billshortenmp says.

He tells @barriecassidy Labor will work with "the sensible part of the Liberal Party" to come up with a framework that builds on the National Energy Guarantee #Insiders #auspol pic.twitter.com/Rzy6AJycBI

— Insiders ABC (@InsidersABC) September 15, 2018

“I think that people are sick and tired of the climate change wars. The climate denialists for all intents and purposes, like Tony Abbott, have taken over the Liberal Party. They didn’t want the clean energy target. They didn’t want an emissions trading scheme.

“The real issue here is that we’ve now got a climate denialist party in power, and the only policy they can do now they’ve rejected the national energy guarantee is one that will drive up power prices and do nothing to encourage more renewables.

“So I’m hoping to work with the sensible part of the Liberal Party, with industry, with environmentalists, and we’ll come up with a framework which will look a lot like, I hope, parts of the national energy guarantee and, of course, we want to see lower prices and more renewables.”

Why is @ScottMorrisonMP ahead of you as preferred PM, @barriecassidy asks @billshortenmp #Insiders #auspol pic.twitter.com/PIZrz2bSzL

— Insiders ABC (@InsidersABC) September 15, 2018

Mr Shorten added that energy privatisation had failed to deliver lower prices.

“It just led to a loss of jobs, higher prices and greater unreliability and a lack of investment,” he said.

Mr Shorten failed to endorse his energy spokesman, Mark Butler, who said he did not support the Adani coal mine.

“I think that that is essentially Mark’s judgment, that he doesn’t think it is going to happen and he doesn’t support it. I think that a lot of people feel that way. Our policy is that we won’t put a single taxpayer dollar into the project. There’s a lot of scepticism if the project is ever going to happen,” he said.