Abbott, Macfarlane last men standing in way of RET deal

Prime Minister Tony Abbott, his minister for industry Ian Macfarlane, and various Cabinet ministers now appear to be the the last men standing in the way of a resolution to Renewable Energy Target negotiations, after federal Labor agreed to a compromise of 33,000GWh on Monday morning.

The compromise figure was proposed late last week, not by Labor but by Liberal Party back bencher Dan Tehan, as a middle ground to the Coalition’s ‘final offer’ of 32,000GWh, and Labor’s 33,500GWh – both of which amount to a big step down from the legislated target of 41,000GWh.

Tehan – the Liberal Member for Wannon in southwest Victoria, whose electorate hosts both trade-exposed aluminium smelting and a large wind turbine industry – broke ranks with his party on Thursday, telling ABC TVs 7.30 that a compromise was necessary, to avoid further job losses and industry fallout.

“Well I think what we need is both sides of politics to sit down at the table and be prepared to compromise,” he said.

“We’re extremely close to getting an outcome and I think if we sit down, put the focus on jobs, we can get a final resolution to this.

Labor leader Bill Shorten on Monday backed the compromise, telling ABC Radio that if the Coalition agreed to it, he would seek endorsement from his MPs.

“Industry has said enough is enough. Labor is saying that enough is enough,” Shorten said.

“This game has gone on too long. The government is killing the renewable energy industry. We’ll have a look at it if they say 33,000 if they’re serious and whether industry could live with it, and we’ll take it to our caucus.”

Australia’s peak renewables body, the Clean Energy Council, welcomed Labor’s latest effort to achieve a bipartisan deal on the RET.

“We would welcome a formal shift in the government’s position, and would be happy to consider any proposal on its merits,” said CEC chief Kane Thornton.

Whether this will move the Coalition to come to the party is another matter, though. A spokesperson for Labor’s shadow environment minister, Mark Butler, said on Friday that the last it had heard was that federal industry minister Ian Macfarlane was insisting on a RET of 32,000GWh.

“If government backbenchers also want a quick resolution, they should be lobbying their Prime Minister, who is the one that wants to destroy renewable energy industry in Australia,” they said.

But with pressure from business and industry groups mounting, too, the Coalition might be more amenable to a compromise.

“GE welcomes any constructive proposal designed to return policy stability to the RET and therefore unlock billions of dollars of investment and create thousands of jobs across Australia. Mr Tehan has put such a proposal forward,” said GE Australia and New Zealand chief executive Geoff Culbert, on Friday.

And this week, a coalition of peak industry, manufacturing, and business groups, joined the call to end the RET stand-off, reports The Australian Financial Review.

In a statement to be released on Monday, the groups called for both parties to sign off on 33,000GWh.

“We acknowledge the goodwill from the Australian government in moving from a position in the high 20,000s to 32,000GWh and the equivalent goodwill from the opposition in moving from a position in the high 30,000s to 33,500GWh,” they said.

“These positions are now close and we ask both sides to resolve the issue, with a compromise of 33,000GWh. That will provide a stable bipartisan basis for investment in energy supply including renewables, conventional energy and energy dependent industry.

“Failing to agree on the Renewable Energy Target will continue to block investment in renewable energy generation and in electricity supply. It will also impose significant unnecessary costs on industry that relies on electricity.”

The signatories are the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Australian Industry Group, the Business Council of Australia, the Australian Aluminium Council, the Bureau of Steel Manufacturers of Australia, the Cement Industry Federation, the Energy Users Association of Australia and the Tasmanian Minerals and Energy Council.

“It’s just really important that we get a solution and we think 33,000GWh is a really good mid-point that will give both the renewable energy industry and actually the conventional energy industry actually an opportunity to invest,” said Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry chief Kate Carnell.

Australian Workers Union secretary Ben Davis also said on Monday that business was “desperate for a resolution” to the matter.

“In Alcoa’s case, it is a cost saving to them which helps their bottom line look a bit more healthy than it already does,” he said.

“In the case of Keppel Prince, with that certainty locked in around the RET target, then hopefully projects will start to come on stream again that they’ve lost in the last 18 months or so, which in turn will provide work.

“It seems at the moment the conservative side of politics haven’t quite got the message,” Davis said.

“When a community and the business community and both sides of the RET argument, ie employers, are all on the same page, then surely any sensible government, Labor or Liberal, is going to listen.”