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

The member for Charlton talked earlier about a rational energy policy. My question to every Labor member is: do you really believe that a 50 per cent renewable energy target by 2030 is in any way a rational electricity policy for this nation? It is the height of irresponsibility and recklessness to promote a 50 per cent renewable energy target, to rush to renewables, without sorting out the issues of storage and inertia, yet that is exactly what Labor Party members support and that is the policy of the Queensland Labor government. They have decided that they want for that state a 50 per cent renewable energy target. Haven't they seen the absolute, unmitigated disaster that that policy has caused in South Australia? The South Australian experiment, where the South Australian Labor government has turned that state into a guinea pig, has completely and utterly failed, yet we have the state Labor Party in Queensland wanting to copy that exactly. You can only shake your head at such stupidity, such incompetence, such recklessness and such danger to the prosperity of not only all Queenslanders but all Australians.

The member for Charlton gave a great speech about how renewable energy is actually now cheaper than coal. Let us take him at his word. If he is correct, we simply do not need any renewable energy targets. If he is correct, if renewable energy is cheaper and they can do the storage cheaper, as the member for Charlton eloquently explained, we can wipe out the renewable energy target today. We can cut it today, because renewables will automatically come in because they will be cheaper. Why aren't we doing that? If that is what they really believe, let's go ahead and cut it today. Let's not extend it one further cent, and maybe some of those companies, such as AGL, that are pocketing millions and millions of dollars in subsidies from the RET scheme might want to give some of that money to charity to help some of the old-age pensioners pay for the cost of electricity that they will charge them. That is the test, if they are fair dinkum.

That is why, if we are to solve this problem, we need to provide more dispatchable power into the grid as soon as we possibly can. By 'dispatchable power', I mean that you can simply turn the power on when you need it. You cannot do that with wind and solar unless you have some type of storage capacity. If we have a reverse auction, every type of generating facility, whether it be coal, gas, hydro, solar, wind, tidal or geothermal, can put their best bids into the market. If the member for Shortland is correct, we will simply get more renewables in the market. If he is not correct, we will get more coal, gas or whatever is the cheapest. But that is what will put electricity prices down in this country, and that is what we need to do.

Also, I would again call on all members not to misrepresent the facts in this debate. The facts are that the electricity prices of this nation in the so-called glory years of the Rudd-Gillard-Rudd governments increased 118 per cent. They are the numbers from the Australian Bureau of Statistics: 118 per cent under the Rudd-Gillard-Rudd governments. Now Labor members come in here and say, as the member for Herbert did, how sorry they are for all the constituents in their electorates—all the pensioners that cannot turn their heating on in winter and all the small businesses that are struggling to pay their electric bills. Now they are upset about it. Where were they when, under their rule, we had an increase of 118 per cent in retail electricity prices?

It is true that wholesale electricity prices have increased under the coalition government. That is a fact, but the reason that they have is the insane policies that we have inherited from the Labor government. The policy of the Renewable Energy Target has forced our most efficient coal generators out of the market, and that is what has forced prices up. We need to get this problem fixed. The entire prosperity of our nation depends on us solving this problem without the ideology of the Labor Party and their insane 50 per cent renewable energy target. (Time expired)

See this speech in context