Gillard to crack down on coal

23 Jul 2010, 11:30 am   -   Source: AAP
3 Comments
Share This
+ Comment
3

Prime Minister Julia Gillard said Labor would set up a $1b fund to connect Australia's main grid to renewable energy resources, as she unveiled the party's new policy on climate change.

RELATED

All new coal-fired power stations will have to meet greener standards if federal Labor is re-elected on August 21.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard outlined Labor's new approach to climate action during a speech at the University of Queensland in Brisbane today.

The speech was disrupted by a Friends of the Earth protester who was wrestled to the ground by security officers as he entered the room where Ms Gillard was speaking.

The prime minister adopted a cautious approach in her speech, emphasising that climate change was a big challenge and people had the right to be concerned about the risk of electricity prices rising.

She announced tougher emissions standards for new coal-fired power stations, and said Labor would invest $1 billion in the national electricity grid to make it more friendly to renewable energy.

Green businesses rewarded

Labor also would reward businesses which restrain or cut their emissions by freezing baselines to be used in an emissions trading scheme, when it starts.

On coal-fired power stations, Ms Gillard said a tougher system would apply only to new projects, not to existing ones or those being proposed which already had environmental approval.

The standards would be "best practice" and would mean power stations would have to be built so they could have green technology - called carbon capture and storage - retrofitted.

The new standards would be written after consultation with industry, experts and environmental groups.

"This means that we would never allow a highly inefficient and dirty power station to be built again in Australia," Ms Gillard said.

Grid 'to be connected to renewables'

On renewable energy, Labor will spend $1 billion over 10 years to make it easier to connect renewable energy projects to the electricity grid.

Another $100 million will be provided to work with financial institutions to develop new renewable energy projects.

Ms Gillard did not budge from her policy of reviewing the need for an ETS in 2012, to start some time from 2013.

She has resisted calls from green groups to quicken the process or establish an interim carbon price.

Citizens' Assembly on Climate

But Ms Gillard did set out the pathway to an ETS by creating a citizens' assembly made up of 150 people selected from the census or the electoral roll.

The voluntary assembly, which will sit for 12 months, will examine the evidence on climate change, the case for action and a market-based approach to reducing pollution.

The assembly's role would be as final arbiter or judge of consensus but to indicate the progress of community consensus.

Ms Gillard warned what would happen if the assembly could not be persuaded by the case for change.

"That would be a clear warning bell that our community has not been persuaded as deeply as required about the need for transformational change," she said.

Ms Gillard described climate change as a big challenge but warned it would take time to tackle. "There is not a switch to flick or one single behaviour to change," she said.

"I will act when the Australian economy is ready and when the Australian people are ready." Ms Gillard said she was committed to taking action.

"It is not an Australian thing to do just to leave a problem like this to our kids to deal with."

Bradley Smith, the 26-year-old protester detained by security officers as Ms Gillard spoke, managed to deliver his message before being bundled handcuffed into a commonwealth car.

"The government has had a three-year mandate, but done nothing," he said.

She has also announced $100 million for companies who invest in renewable energy resources. 

Left and right slam plan

The coalition is not impressed.

"It's a massive failure of leadership," opposition climate action spokesman Greg Hunt told ABC Radio.

"She has produced a 2020 summit meets the Copenhagen conference."

The Australian Greens are of a similar mind, describing the policy as a cop-out.

"This is purely an excuse for inaction ... this is not the way to go," climate spokeswoman Christine Milne told ABC Radio.

The Australia Institute described the idea of a citizens' assembly as "school-yard politics".

It was "bizarre" a government would randomly select 150 people to advise it on policy, the think tank's executive director Richard Denniss said.

"We'll be doing it (climate policy) on Facebook next," he told ABC Radio. Greenpeace said the citizens' assembly was nothing more than a smokescreen.

"The creation of a climate jury is just code for `I need more time to talk to my friends in the mining industry'," campaigns manager Stephen Campbell said in a statement.

  • Follow us: 
  • Follow us on Facebook
  • Follow us on Twitter
  • Follow us on Youtube

Your Comments

Show some leadership Julia

Andy - from Melbourne, 2 years ago

This is exteremely disappointing. Certainly we all need to understand why each of us has a part to play in minimising climate change. But really, it's time for some genuine action and true leadership on this issue, not another talking shop. Malcolm Turnbull would have delivered more than this.

icing without the cake?

Manny - from Sydney, 2 years ago

I guess higher standards for power plants and $1b to connect the grid to renewable energy resources is a step in the right direction, but is that it?! What about a price on carbon? or a commitment to no new coal stations at all? or actual investment in green energy? But I guess that kind of announcement would be impossible in a political climate where coal is seen as "the golden goose".

Dave - from Bellingen, 2 years ago

Can you believe it?! finally one of the major parties tackles a REAL issue and not just one that is SPUN up by the fear mongering media! We need a sustainable economy, we need renewable energies otherwise we are condemning future generations to harsher living standards and that is not fair. Why is the life of a person living in say sydney now more important than one that WILL live in sydney in 50years time? Time to stop being selfish Aust. And to Labor this is only the begginning WE WANT MORE!

Join the Discussion

Name
City / Suburb E.g. Artarmon, Sydney
Title
Comment
You have characters remaining.
Validation
What's this?
This is a captcha-picture. It is used to prevent mass-access by robots.
All submitted comments become the property of SBS. They are moderated, so we reserve the right to edit comments and remove HTML tags. Not all submitted comments will be published. Publication does not mean we endorse the opinions expressed. Please read our terms and conditions for more information.