The Coalition has announced its plan to repeal the Labor Government’s net zero legislation while doubling down on its previously ill-fated plans to pursue nuclear energy in Australia.
“Australians are sick of being lectured to about the energy transition. What they want to hear is how energy will be made cheaper,” Opposition energy spokesman Dan Tehan said in a statement.
“For the last four-and-a-half years, energy policy has been driven by ideology, political targets, and government picking winners rather than by the basic realities of keeping the lights on and Australian businesses competitive. That is why the Coalition’s Scrap Net Zero (Cheaper Energy) Bill starts with a simple proposition: the more energy, the better.
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“The Coalition’s Scrap Net Zero (Cheaper Energy) Bill is designed to restore these principles. It will be introduced within 30 days of the Coalition sitting on the government benches.”
The Coalition’s Bill includes:
- Repealing the Climate Change Act 2022
- Removing the Safeguard Mechanism
- Repealing the New Vehicle Efficiency Standard Act of 2024
- Revoking four offshore wind energy zones across the Hunter, Illawarra, Southern Ocean, and Bunbury regions, but leaving the zones at Gippsland and Tasmania
- Repealing all legislative prohibition on nuclear energy
- Introducing a renewable energy code of conduct for renewables developers
- Requiring that any energy funding provided to the states and territories is conditional on prioritising energy affordability, and reliability
- Redirecting the Australian Energy Regulator to have primary regard to affordability and reliability, which will put households and businesses at the centre of regulatory decision making.
The Climate Council labelled the Coalition’s newly announced energy plan “negligent and reckless”.
Its CEO, Amanda McKenzie, said, “This brain fart of a policy will send power bills through the roof. Propping up clapped-out coal plants will add hundreds of dollars to household bills. Then there’s the eye-wateringly expensive hundreds of billions for a nuclear fantasy on top.
“The Coalition’s war on renewables is pure ideology. They want every egg in the basket of volatile fossil fuels and a nuclear fantasy. And they want taxpayers to foot the bill.
“They want to remove the only thing putting downward pressure on energy prices: renewable power. Australia is the sunniest and one of the windiest countries in the world. To disrupt the transition to renewable power is reckless and self-defeating, squandering the jobs, investment and prosperity that should be ours.
“In a world that is increasingly volatile, the Coalition’s plan to increase Australia’s reliance on foreign oil and limit Australians’ access to more efficient vehicles would make us more vulnerable to future global shocks. Australians have been flocking to EVs and more efficient vehicles since the New Vehicle Efficiency Standards came in.
“The Coalition wants to force Australians back into the most polluting cars in the world and increase our dependence on foreign oil. This is a recipe for more insecure and costly energy and transport—it makes no sense at all.”
Independent Member for Kooyong, Dr Monique Ryan, also condemned the Coalition’s plan.
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“The Coalition’s plan is dumb, dangerous, and desperate climate denial which would make energy more expensive and unreliable,” Dr Ryan said.
“Australians have embraced clean energy because it works. We’ve spent years investing in rooftop solar, electric vehicles, household batteries, and home electrification because these technologies save money and reduce emissions. The Liberals’ retrograde attempt to appease the Nationals and woo One Nation voters would drag the country backwards.”
