Draft laws on a bipartisan renewable energy target have passed the lower house despite the concerns of two government MPs.
Nationals MP Keith Pitt broke ranks during debate on the legislation, which pares back the target from 41,000 gigawatt hours to 33,000, arguing it would increase the cost of electricity for those who could least afford it.
Mr Pitt said the target would slug taxpayers billions of dollars to subsidise private enterprise, and would only leave environmentalists with a "warm and fuzzy feeling" come 2020 when the aim is to have 20 per cent of Australia's energy come from renewables.
However, his vote was not formally counted among those in opposition, with only independents Bob Katter and Andrew Wilkie voting against the bill.
Liberal Craig Kelly questioned the efficacy of solar panels, saying such an investment would simply be "pissed up against the window".
He ridiculed how building 2000 new wind turbines would reduce the impact of climate change.
"It is little different from those in primitive societies that believed that we can change the weather by throwing 2000 virgins down a volcano," Mr Kelly said.
The government included the burning of wood waste as a renewable source of fuel in the legislation, to much consternation from Labor, which wants it removed and omitted from any future laws on the target.
The opposition argues that what is considered wood waste is not just timber offcuts, bark and branches but also the whole of any tree not harvested.
The coalition responded that wood waste was included in Labor's own legislation until November 2011, and burning it was more beneficial to the environment than simply allowing it to decompose.
Tasmanian Liberal Andrew Nikolic accused Labor and the Greens of being climate science deniers in ignoring the proven benefits of including biomass from native forest wood waste as a source of renewable energy.
"You wouldn't slaughter a cow for the prime eye fillet and leave the rest to rot," he said.
"The same principle applies to the forest industry."
Share
