Energy Insiders Podcast: Oliver Yates takes on Josh Frydenberg

The Energy Insiders podcast returns with an interview with former CEFC boss Oliver Yates, now challenging Josh Frydenberg in the “Menzies” seat of Kooyong.

Yates, who headed the $10 billion CEFC at its inception and for five years, and who resisted Coalition government attempts to close it down or divert its funds, says Frydenberg – now the deputy Liberal leader and the former environment and energy minister, had plenty of chances to act on climate, and energy, but failed. “He has put his career ahead of his responsibility, and the environment,.

Yates says the failure to address is severed and threatens Australian citizens and global citizens.

“However much I tried, and however much all of us in the industry spent time explaining to this government that we can produce power cheaply, effectively and sustainably, they failed to take any serious action on climate change, and that is extremely unacceptable,” Yates said.

“There are many industry leaders who should be standing up now and doing exactly what I am doing, which is standing up for what’s right at a time when environment is under severe threat,

“if we don’t get this right now, we could have another four years of inaction. If you look at the pictures of fish floating in the Mendindee Lakes, if you look at the pictures of the fires in Tasmania, the heat we are suffering, the IPCC report on 1.5°C, it is immoral to not stand up. That is what I am doing. I live in Kooyong, Josh is my local member, and i think it is the right thing to do.”

Yates says he thinks he has a “reasonable chance” he could win in Kooyong, and a chance for other independents to win in other states, and create “fundamental change.”

He said he fails to understand why the Liberal Party continues to reject renewables and action on climate.”You would assume that politicians are informed individuals, and are therefore able to do the same analysis as we all can in the industry, which would tell them quite clearly the opportunities for the switch to renewables are great”, in jobs, and providing clean energy cheaply in a way that is table, predictable and secure.

“They can see that, they just don’t want to believe it,” Yates says. Why?

“I’m left with an unhappy feeling that there is some dark motive, or some cash or remunerative or donation motive, that underline this. I can’t understand why sensible people can’t analyse very clear information and come to a similar sensible conclusion.”

There is more to this podcast. We discuss some of the recent events in the energy market, including last week’s soaring prices and load-shedding, the host of new projects, and a new rush of battery storage installations.

You can find this and prior episodes of Energy Insiders here, along with episodes from Solar Insiders and our EV-focused podcast, The Driven.