So you wonder how much time the Queensland Government spends in Central Queensland when
they announce an energy plan to shut down the coal industry and “transition” people away from an
industry that is booming.
Further, it is the coal industry that is keeping the Australian economy going in what are otherwise challenging economic times overseas. This week the Federal Government reported that its budget was $50 billion better off compared to six months ago in large part thanks to booming coal prices.
So why would we shut down an industry that is laying golden eggs for Australia?
The answer is that the Queensland Government’s energy plan is not about your job, it is about their jobs. The Greens won three seats in Brisbane at the Federal election, including one off the Labor party. The Queensland Government is now scared that it will lose seats to the Greens.
So it announces a green energy plan. That plan will see the rest of Queensland’s coal fired power stations shut over the next 13 years. We had a preview of what this would be like this winter, when a lack of coal fired power caused prices to spike and the forced closures of factories. If we shut off all our reliable coal fired power plants, our factories will not come back.
The Queensland Government’s “plan” involves the construction of large dams that it has done almost zero consultation on. When we propose dams that have gone through extensive consultation to grow more food, the Labor party comes up with every excuse not to build them.
But because these dams help support their investors in green energy, the turtles can go get stuffed.
Worse though is the shocking lack of detail in these plans. They have not been written on the back of an envelope, more like on the back of a postage stamp. There are only vague indications of how much they will cost.
We are told that the pumped hydro schemes will provide power for at least 24 hours but “renewable droughts” often last for weeks.
The has also been no consideration of the most proven, zero carbon option that exists, nuclear energy. Australia is the only continent in the world that does not have a nuclear energy reactor despite having the world’s largest uranium reserves.
This week I and 8 other Liberal and Nationals Senators introduced legislation to remove the ban on
nuclear energy. Australia is the only large, developed nation in the world that makes it illegal to build a nuclear energy plant.
The Queensland Government’s plan relies on borrowing money from China to buy wind turbines and solar panels made in China. It is time we instead use Australian resources, like uranium and coal, to protect Australian jobs.
