Use your influence with Labor leaders on energy, Frydenberg urges Shorten

Federal Energy Minister Josh Frydenberg has challenged Bill Shorten to help ease the national energy crisis.

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten is being urged to call Labor leaders about the energy crisis. Picture: AAP

Federal Energy Minister Josh Frydenberg has challenged Bill Shorten to hold an urgent meeting with Victorian Labor leader Daniel Andrews to lift the state’s mora­torium on onshore gas develop­ment and help ease the national energy crisis.

The push from Mr Frydenberg comes after the federal Oppos­ition Leader told a clean-energy summit in Sydney that Labor would accept all 50 of the recommendations by Chief Scientist Alan Finkel in his blueprint to ­reform the National Electricity Market.

Mr Shorten used his address as a rallying cry to build a “better, bipartis­an energy and climate policy­”, in a move which sees Labor embracing the Finkel recommen­dation for a clean energy­ target and pressuring the government into taking action.

Dr Finkel also proposed­ that governments adopt “evidence-based regulatory regimes­ to manage­ the risk of individual gas projects on a case-by-case basis”, a finding seized on by the Turnbull government to encourage Labor state and territory governments into unlocking their gas reserves.

Mr Frydenberg said yesterday that bans on conventional and unconventional gas extraction by the Labor governments in Victoria and the Northern Territory, led by Chief Minister Michael Gunner­, had “reduced domestic supply and put upward pressure on prices”.

“If Bill Shorten is true to his word in accepting the Finkel recommen­dations around gas developmen­t, he should pick up the phone and ask for an urgent meeting with Mr Andrews and Mr Gunner and demand they lift their gas restrictions,” he told The Australian.

“If Victoria and the Northern Territory produce more gas, it ­follows that prices will be lower and Australian families and business better off.

“If Bill Shorten fails to use his influence with Victoria and the Northern Territory, it will be further­ proof that his only interest is in the politics of energy policy, not real outcomes.”

Labor’s energy spokesman Mark Butler said yesterday there was deep community opposition to onshore gas development across parts of Australia, and urged the federal government to do more to address safety ­concerns.

“We support responsible onshore development of gas,” Mr Butler told Sky News.

“We think the commonwealth has got to take a more responsible attitude to (a) debate that’s particular­ly a difficult debate in NSW and Victoria. Malcolm Turnbull seeks simply­ to wag the finger ... We say that it’s not ­sufficient to simply wag the finger.

“The commonwealth has some responsibility to put in place a framework that will deal with the very deep community oppos­ition to these developments that exist in Victoria and NSW.’’

Mr Butler said that Labor was prepared to set aside its preference for an emissions intensity scheme to embrace the key ­finding of the Finkel review for a clean energy target to help ­secure investment certainty.