Craig Kelly (Hughes, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I have seen some confused and muddle headed thinking from Labor members of parliament in my time, but today, I think, just about takes the cake for complete and utter confusion. But I would like to congratulate the member for Newcastle for her contribution to this MPI, because she is right to be concerned about those jobs at Tomago.

The main theme of this debate, that we have an energy crisis in this country, is correct. Why do we have the crisis? It goes back to when good old Kevin 07 decided that he would have a 20 per cent renewable energy target by 2020. There was nothing that was economically sensible about that, other than that it rhymed: 20 per cent by 2020. The entire problem is that when you have wind turbines, which are the lowest costing renewable energy, but cost more than coal, and the wind does not blow the power does not flow. An example from today, we have around 2,000 wind turbines in this nation, if they were all working at maximum capacity they would generate around 3,900 megawatts. At 12 o'clock today they were working at less than two per cent capacity. That means you have to have the backup of fossil fuels. That is why it was so good for the member for Newcastle to talk about the importance of coal fired power. Because without coal fired power, places like Tomago will close down. All those workers in her electorate will lose their jobs. Yet it is the Labor Party that has a plan to kick-start—they said it, kick-start—the closure of coal fired power station's in their policy. I say to the member for Newcastle about the coal fired power station that the workers in Tomago rely on, it is the policy of the Labor Party and the Greens to close those power coal fired power stations down.

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