Adam Bandt (Melbourne, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for the Environment and Energy. In a Senate committee report tabled yesterday, Australia's biggest power company, AGL, which runs coal-fired generators like Loy Yang in Victoria and Bayswater in New South Wales, called for a clear national plan for the orderly retirement of coal-fired generators. For the first time ever, the companies running coal-fired power stations are joining with affected communities, unions and environment groups in calling for a government-led orderly and just transition to a clean economy. Minister, will you do what the Senate committee report recommended and take a plan to the December meeting of the COAG Energy Council, or, for this government, is 'plan' still just another four-letter word?

Josh Frydenberg (Kooyong, Liberal Party, Minister for the Environment and Energy) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Melbourne for his question. Just last week I got a question from the member for Melbourne and I said that when he was thinking up that question he was sipping his latte and putting his sandals up on the table in Brunswick Street. But, lo and behold, after question time, the member for Melbourne put out a press release in which he said he was offended because I was playing the man. So I take this opportunity to apologise to the member for Melbourne because I found out he is not a latte man, he is a mocha man, and they were not sandals—you put your Birkenstocks up on the table.

We are dealing with a transition in the Australian energy sector. We have seen eight out of the 12 most emission intensive power stations close over the last five years and, with the announcement that Hazelwood will close at the end of March next year, that will be nine. There is a transition. The member for Melbourne referred to the report that was tabled in the parliament in the Senate yesterday. Dare I say, it was leaked by somebody—who knows who—before it was officially tabled. But when you are looking at the reports that are being named by the member for Melbourne it is always important to go and look at some of the evidence that was put before those Senate inquiries. We went to the Hansard, and there was evidence given to this Senate inquiry on coal fired power stations from a Mr Mersmann, the director of the mining, chemicals and energy workers union in Germany. Mr Mersmann was brought out here by the ACTU, and you would think that, as he had been brought out by Labor to give evidence to a coal power plant inquiry, he would say that it is the end of coal. But he was asked this question about Germany by our colleague Senator Hume:

How many coal-fired power stations are being built?

Mr Mersmann replied:

Not many; four or five, maximum.

The next question from Senator Hume was:

Is coal-fired power being imported into Germany from Poland?

The answer from Mr Mersmann was:

Yes, of course.

When he was asked what was happening to electricity prices he said:

They have increased.

The bottom line is that every country is different. In Australia, 60 per cent of our power is being generated by coal, and we have a transition plan which involves putting energy security as the No. 1 priority. We are dealing with a 'trilemma' of issues: energy security, energy affordability and a lower emissions future. We will not sacrifice blue-collar jobs in the regions in order to win Greens votes in the city, which is not just the position of the Greens but, unfortunately, is the position that has now been joined by the Labor Party, who are in partnership with the Greens—a bit like they were during Julia Gillard and Bob Brown's time.