Palaszczuk Government wants Canberra’s energy cards on the table

The Palaszczuk Government wants to know the detailed impact of a proposed National Energy Guarantee --- including on power prices and carbon emissions --- before it will back it.

Speaking after today’s meeting of all state, territory and federal energy ministers in Melbourne, Energy Minister Dr Anthony Lynham said Queensland supported the concept of an integrated climate and energy policy but had not been provided the information it needed to make a call.

“We support an end game of lower prices, lower emissions, an energy market that works for industry, and other Australians having the reliability of supply Queenslanders enjoy,” he said.

“But we still don’t have the detailed game plan to decide if the NEG is the way to get there.

“Queensland has agreed today to progress the NEG work so everyone can know the potential impact.

“The Palaszczuk Government will be carefully considering the additional information provided in advance of COAG in August, but remains concerned about the tight timeframes to finalise this framework.

“Importantly, we remain rock-solid in our commitment to a 50 per cent renewable energy target by 2030 and any NEG cannot impact on our target.”

Dr Lynham said other key matters were:

• mechanisms for future governments to fulfil their mandates to increase the national emissions target
• reassessment of the 2030 emissions reduction target for the electricity industry, as existing renewable energy growth means the industry will soon pass that target anyway and the energy sector remains best placed to deliver reductions in the carbon emissions for the broader economy
• with a tight August deadline for ministers to next meet and consider a complete proposal,  state, for Commonwealth and territory officials to meet regularly to flesh out missing details.
• More detail on the emissions target, impacts on emissions-intensive, trade-exposed export industries, offsets, state additionality, the setting of the reliability standard, market power mitigation and other technical matters.

The Queensland Government’s concerns about the NEG reflect input from key groups including the Queensland Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Clean Energy Council, the Queensland Council of Social Services and environmental groups.

Dr Lynham said Queensland was in a solid position under a Labor government compared to other states.

“We have Australia’s youngest coal fired powered generators delivering reliable baseload power, coupled with a renewable energy boom, with more than $4 billion worth of renewable projects financially committed or under construction,” he said.

“Queensland has had the lowest wholesale electricity prices on the east coast for the past five months and our policies continue to place downward pressure on electricity prices.”

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Media inquiries: Jan Martin 0439 341 314