‘One by one”: Greens target more coal and gas bans after victory

The Greens have vowed to end government support for coal or gas projects, inking a “sneaky deal” to block access to a $15 billion fund.

The Greens have vowed to end any government funding for coal and gas, after inking a “sneaky deal” to prevent fossil fuel projects accessing a new $15bn manufacturing fund.

Industry Minister Ed Husic said the National Reconstruction Fund was never meant to fund coal and gas projects and there were other funding avenues like the Northern Australian Infrastructure Facility.

Still, Greens leader Adam Bandt vowed to use the party’s power in the Senate to start pushing for bans across more agencies.

Greens leader Adam Bandt

If rubber-stamped in the Senate, the fund will provide loans and banking guarantees to manufacturing projects in several key areas including resources, agriculture, renewable energy, critical minerals, defence, medical science and transport.

Queensland senator Murray Watt said the fund would mean more blue-collar jobs for the state, particularly in the regions.

“It will also mean we make more things here, so we can stand on our own two feet through unpredictable international supply chains,” he said.

Mr Bandt said the coal and gas cash ban was not just symbolic, as it would prevent future governments from using it to fund fossil fuel projects.

He said the Greens would continue the work to ban more government agencies from funding fossil fuels.

“We’ve already got amendments last year during the climate legislation negotiations that will affect their ability to fund coal and gas,” he said.

“We are going one by one through the funds … to ensure that public money can’t be used to make the climate crisis worse.”

In response to demands from the Greens last year the government agreed that government agencies, including the NAIF, would have to take into account net zero obligations but there was not outright ban on specific industries.

Queensland Labor senator Murray Watt

Opposition resources spokeswoman Senator Susan McDonald said Prime Minister Anthony Albanese had declared on Tuesday that gas was would play a key role in the energy transition, before banning the fund from funding gas projects just two days later.

“This is not the first time Labor has done a sneaky deal with the Greens to ban funding for coal and gas, with Commonwealth Agencies, including Infrastructure Australia and the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility, having their investment mandates hamstrung late last year,” she said.

It has yet to pass through the Senate, where it now has the support of the Greens but still requires two other crossbenchers.

Originally published as ‘One by one”: Greens target more coal and gas bans after victory