Keep it clean: Pollies telling climate crackers

This week kicked off with Origin Energy CEO Grant King’s last-ditch effort to persuade the political powers that be to ignore the recommendations of the Climate Change Authority and ditch the current Renewable Energy Target. “We don’t yet know what the RET scheme is costing us and we should have known more about that as a result of the [CCA’s] review, but we don’t,” King said on Monday.

”At the moment, these are marginal fuels, free-riding on the system. Once that free ride is over, they will have to pay their way, and that will result in increased costs.” But King’s efforts went unrewarded (at least for now), with the federal government endorsing the CCA’s RET recommendation on Thursday – an announcement that itself got drowned out in a crescendo of Labor Party infighting. Meanwhile, in the Coalition-led states of WA and Queensland, the attack on all things green continues…

“This is a government very committed to renewable energy. We are going to remain committed to it and it is in stark contrast to the Opposition whose position is a bit all over the place.” – Federal climate change minister, Greg Combet

“The 20 per cent by 2020 renewable energy target has also added to the problems of the manufacturing industry, and it affects their bottom line. The 20 per cent renewable energy target cannot be achieved by 2020 – and, if it is, it is going to be too expensive, which will add another burden to our manufacturing arm.” – Ken O’Dowd, MP Liberal Party Representative for Flynn

“We have introduced a reform which is demonstrably economically responsible, environmentally effective and socially fair, yet all the other side of politics can do is deceive, misrepresent and run the most mendacious campaign we have ever seen. They are creating uncertainty for the business sector and uncertainty for investors in renewable energy. They are a complete farce on this issue.” – Federal climate change minister, Greg Combet (ALP)

“Green policies are now adding more than 17 per cent to the average electricity bill, without taking into account the impact of solar photovoltaic on domestic rooftops, which is also being passed onto all consumers on their power bills. Combine (solar PV costs) with the RET and Carbon Tax and we are in a situation where more than one-third of power bills is taken up by green schemes.” – Queensland’s Liberal Party energy minister, Mark McArdle

“For communities across this state, for families across the state, the carbon tax is not only hitting their power bills, it also means the state government has got less money for direct services.” – NSW Liberal Party Treasurer ,Mike Baird, on NSW treasury estimates showing the carbon tax will cost the state almost $1 billion

“It’s obviously evidence that the carbon tax is hurting the people of NSW and hurting the people of Australia.” – Opposition leader Tony Abbott, on NSW treasury estimates showing the carbon tax will cost the state almost $1 billion

“I should say that, if you are going to have a policy to reduce carbon emissions, it is not a bad starting point to actually believe that carbon emissions are having an impact on climate change. Many on that side of the House do not seem to believe that.” – Stephen Jones MP, Australian Labor Party Representative for Throsby

“What we have in this debate is a clear choice between a market-based solution and … a policy of planting trees and picking winners. It is the plant-and-pick policy, aiming to plant more trees than the entire surface area of Tasmania, at last count. Is it any wonder that the serious end of town, when it comes to business, are running away from this policy at a great rate of knots.” – Stephen Jones