The Morrison Government has today released the outline of their plans for a gas-fired economic recovery against the best advice available from the AEMO, CSIRO, investment banks, farmers, environmentalists, and the wishes of the Australian public.
Ketan Joshi deconstructs the measures, their flaws, and the background to this unnecessary and backwards-facing plan.
It’s a withering indictment of the Government’s lack of leadership on Climate Change, once again.
Steve Baty, Democrats campaigner
Updated: 16th September
The Australian Energy Council has joined the chorus of criticism in response to the Government’s proposed intervention in the energy-generation market.
There are no material reliability concerns that would warrant this kind of interventionist approach, and there are already mechanisms in place to address any shortfall identified.
AEC’s Chief Executive, Sarah McNamara
The Council represents 22 major electricity and downstream natural gas businesses operating in the competitive wholesale and retail energy markets. These businesses collectively generate the overwhelming majority of electricity in Australia, sell gas and electricity to over 10 million homes and businesses, and are major investors in renewable energy generation.
This response highlights the extent to which the Government’s espoused preference for free-market mechanisms has been thrown out in this case.