Self-preservation the real reason for Labor’s NEG-ativity

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews.

The real reason the embattled ­Andrews government is threatening to block the National Energy Guarantee has very little to do with policy and everything to do with local politics.

There are a number of inner-city Labor seats that could easily fall to the Greens in the upcoming election. An issue such as the NEG could tip the balance.

The Greens are opposed to the NEG and have the active support of GetUp! The claim is made that the NEG is setting an emissions reduction target that is too low and doesn’t do enough to promote renewable energy investment.

The Andrews government has endured a number of scandals and mishaps in recent times. Six of the current ministers, including the energy minister, are being investigated by the police in relation to the misuse of government funds for political ends — the so-called Red Shirts affair.

The issue of law and order is also dogging the government, with its equivocation on African gang crime and the establishment of a bickering taskforce unlikely to cut the mustard with the voters.

This is a major political negative for Andrews, particularly in middle and outer suburbs.

The Andrews government will be reluctant to block the NEG if it can be interpreted as standing in the way of lower electricity prices. This is why the Premier has the lame reasoning that there must be proof the Coalition partyroom backs the NEG before he signs on.

Of course, this is ridiculous.

If some members of the partyroom do eventually oppose the NEG, or parts of it, it’s unlikely they will cross the floor to vote against it.

Mind you, if the opposition in the partyroom is strong and pervasive, the Energy and Environment Minister, Josh Frydenberg, will be forced to drop the policy, in which case Andrews’s conditional support will be irrelevant.