Senate debates

Monday, 27 March 2017

Questions without Notice

Energy

2:39 pm

Photo of John WilliamsJohn Williams (NSW, National Party) Share this | | Hansard source

I would like to take this opportunity to offer Senator MacDonald and all those in North Queensland facing Cyclone Debbie all the best as that proceeds.

My question is to the Minister for Resources and Northern Australia, Senator Canavan. Following reports today that there is strong community support for new coal-fired power stations, can you confirm that the government is considering the construction of a new coal-fired power station to put downward pressure on electricity prices and maintain the reliability of the network?

2:40 pm

Photo of Matthew CanavanMatthew Canavan (Queensland, Liberal National Party, Minister for Resources and Northern Australia) Share this | | Hansard source

I thank Senator Williams for his question. I, too, would like to echo the government's sentiments supporting and thinking about those people facing Cyclone Debbie in North Queensland.

The government is focused on doing everything we can to create jobs and bring down the cost of living for Australians and to improve the environmental sustainability of our energy network. We need cheap sources of power to create jobs. We need cheap sources of power to keep downward pressure on people's electricity bills. Coal remains one of the cheapest forms of power. That is why the government is open to considering new coal-fired power stations around our country.

They are already working in our country, of course. They produce 70 per cent of the electricity on our eastern seaboard and 60 per cent nationally, and they are working right around the world too. Indeed, for the latest coal-fired power technology, ultrasupercritical coal-fired power, which burns coal at higher temperatures and has roughly 20 per cent to 30 per cent lower emissions, there are 123 of these units operating right around the world. And there are just over another 100 in planning for construction or operation very soon as well.

This is working. I was in Japan in the last fortnight at the Isogo ultrasupercritical coal-fired power station. They had virtually no pollution at all. They had no particulate dust matter being emitted to a decimal point of parts per million of air. Their nitrous oxide results were only 0.06 grams per kilowatt hour, and their sulfur oxide was only 0.01 grams per kilowatt hour as well. It is a clean coal-fired power station. It does all of this while reducing its emissions from its previous plant by 17 per cent as well.

What is wrong with clean coal? It creates jobs, it provides reliable power and it cuts emissions as well. It ticks all the boxes. That is why the government is focused on providing power that creates jobs in our economy and brings down prices.

Photo of Stephen ParryStephen Parry (President) Share this | | Hansard source

Senator Williams, a supplementary question.

2:42 pm

Photo of John WilliamsJohn Williams (NSW, National Party) Share this | | Hansard source

Noting that many countries around the world are building clean-coal power stations, can the minister inform the Senate of the contribution clean-coal technology could make to the affordability and reliability of Australia's energy mix?

Photo of Matthew CanavanMatthew Canavan (Queensland, Liberal National Party, Minister for Resources and Northern Australia) Share this | | Hansard source

The senator is exactly right: many countries, as I said in my answer to the previous question, are building these latest coal-fired power stations around the world. If we were to replace our own coal-fired fleet with this latest technology, it would reduce our emissions in our coal-fired sector by about 21 per cent to 27 per cent. India has also made the decision to make sure all of its new coal-fired power stations are supercritical or above. It is also retrofitting some of its older coal-fired power stations with supercritical technology.

Senator Whish-Wilson interjecting

I will take that interjection—'Who is proposing the technology?' Dr Alan Finkel, the Chief Scientist, says that:

We believe that there are a lot of low-emissions technologies and combinations with storage that are the future …

Senator Whish-Wilson interjecting

Photo of John WilliamsJohn Williams (NSW, National Party) Share this | | Hansard source

Mr President, I rise on a point of order. I am trying to listen to the answer to the question I have asked Senator Canavan. Could you please keep Senator Whish-Wilson quiet or remove him from the chamber.

Photo of Stephen ParryStephen Parry (President) Share this | | Hansard source

Order! I remind all senators to not interject and to allow the questioner and the answer to be heard.

Photo of Matthew CanavanMatthew Canavan (Queensland, Liberal National Party, Minister for Resources and Northern Australia) Share this | | Hansard source

As I was saying, Dr Alan Finkel, the Chief Scientist, said:

I think that existing coal, and new coal, with CCS, is a very legitimate low emissions technology.

Dr Daniel Roberts from the CSIRO said, 'We really think that if you get some good high-efficiency low-emission coal-fired power stations as part of the grid that is a really good way of maximising the amount of renewables.' You would think, therefore, that the Greens would also be supporting these new technologies. (Time expired)

Photo of Stephen ParryStephen Parry (President) Share this | | Hansard source

Senator Williams, a final supplementary question.

2:44 pm

Photo of John WilliamsJohn Williams (NSW, National Party) Share this | | Hansard source

Is the minister aware of any alternative energy policies?

Photo of Peter Whish-WilsonPeter Whish-Wilson (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | | Hansard source

Renewable energy!

Photo of Stephen ParryStephen Parry (President) Share this | | Hansard source

Senator Whish-Wilson!

Photo of Matthew CanavanMatthew Canavan (Queensland, Liberal National Party, Minister for Resources and Northern Australia) Share this | | Hansard source

There is a cabal in this place that is combining to try to shut down coal-fired power stations in Australia. We know that members of the Greens have always had that view. But last week the Labor Party also supported a motion in this place saying that coal is on the decline and that we should walk away from coal-fired power and walk away from 70 per cent of our electricity supply.

The Labor Party are turning their backs on the 44,000 Australians who work in our coalmining sector. Those 44,000 Australians help produce much of the energy resources that power the world. They are good, hardworking Australians who deserve representation in this place. You would think they would get it from the Australian Labor Party; you would think the Australian Labor Party would be supporting coalmining workers—but they are not, in their alliance with the Greens; we are supporting a coalmining sector, because we believe that we must have cheap and affordable energy supplies for our nation but that it can also guarantee good high-paying jobs.