Sarah Hanson-Young (SA, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the minister representing the Prime Minister, Senator Brandis. Can the minister confirm that, after months of leadership tussle, Tony Abbott is now back leading the Liberal Party's energy policy and now there will be a dirty energy target which includes coal? Can the minister confirm that extending the life of a coal-fired power station will make global warming worse and threaten future investment in renewables and that this latest move will only drive up pollution and power prices and threaten the stability of the energy grid?

George Brandis (Queensland, Liberal Party, Attorney-General) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

No, Senator Hanson-Young. Not only can I not confirm any of those things, but I can tell you that every one of the propositions that you have put to me in your question is wrong. Senator Hanson-Young, I must say, in fairness to the Greens, that at least you believe this nonsense—at least you believe this ideologically driven war against the coal industry. Those in the Labor Party are merely trying to follow your lead, and the Australian people know it. But, Senator Hanson-Young, the truth is that, as you well know, for many years to come coal will be an important part of the Australian energy mix. Nobody who has examined this industry with any skill or scholarship disputes that, for many years to come, coal will be an important part of the Australian energy mix.

We on our side of parliament are not ideological about this, as you are. What we believe in is the engineering—we are instructed by the engineering; we are instructed by the economics. What we are doing is designing a suite of policies to make sure that energy is as reliable and as affordable to the Australian people as it can be. That means that we are technology agnostic. Coal, as I said a moment ago, will continue for years to come to be an important part of the energy mix, and so will other fossil fuels like gas and so will renewable energy, which is an increasing part of the energy mix. All of these are important parts of the energy mix, but, unlike the Greens, Senator Hanson-Young, rather than having an ideological—nay, almost theological—obsession with one part of the energy mix, we have an all-of-the-above approach. We have a platform, a technology agnostic approach— (Time expired)

Stephen Parry (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Hanson-Young, a supplementary question.

Sarah Hanson-Young (SA, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This agnostic view seems to be leading you to a position of flip-flopping on energy policy. You have absolutely no plan. Can the Attorney-General please explain why you think it is right to wilfully deceive the public over the AMEO's report last week, which clearly said that action on climate change— (Time expired)

George Brandis (Queensland, Liberal Party, Attorney-General) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Hanson-Young, you assert that we do not have an energy policy, and that is entirely wrong. When it comes to climate change, Senator Hanson-Young, as I have pointed out to you many times over the years, Australia adopted at Copenhagen the most ambitious per capita reductions targets in the world—so, so much for having no policy in relation to climate change. But on energy policy more broadly, as I said a moment ago, we are technology agnostic because we understand that there are different contributors to the aggregate supply of energy in Australia. That includes coal, it includes gas, it includes renewables such as solar and wind, it includes stored power and it includes projects such as Snowy Hydro 2.0, of which the Prime Minister has been such a champion. We will configure our policy in a way that makes energy most affordable— (Time expired)

Stephen Parry (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Hanson-Young, a final supplementary question.

Sarah Hanson-Young (SA, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Today Sydney is experiencing record-breaking temperatures for September, the highest in almost 160 years. There are currently 70 fires burning across New South Wales as we speak. The public is being asked to report unattended fires. We know that global warming is making cyclones and bushfires worse. How does the government justify their dirty energy target in light of all of this?

George Brandis (Queensland, Liberal Party, Attorney-General) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Hanson-Young, with respect, I think you're letting yourself get a little carried away with the rhetoric. We make no apologies whatsoever for adopting an energy policy that will make electricity prices as affordable as possible for the Australian people—unlike those opposite, under whose period in government electricity prices rose by 101 per cent—and we make no apologies as well for ensuring the reliability of supply. Senator Hanson-Young, you come from the state of South Australia, where the very result of the ideological, theological attitude to energy policy saw that state go into blackout, because the state Labor government didn't get the energy mix right. And we are fearful that, as a result of the ideological approach of state Labor governments in South Australia, Victoria and Queensland, the same mistake will happen this summer as well. (Time expired)