Australia’s conservative Liberal-National Prime Minister Tony Abbott has said he wants the country to be an affordable energy superpower.
As a result Mr Abbott has said a review into the Renewable Energy Target (RET) will look at the pressure it’s placing on domestic prices and the country’s manufacturing competitiveness.
Mr Abbott today announced a taskforce into the manufacturing sector which would, among other things, examine ways to significantly drive down power prices to ease the cost of production.
AAP newsagency reports the Liberal-National government will next year review the bipartisan RET that aims to ensure 20 per cent of Australia’s electricity comes from renewable sources by 2020.
There is strong evidence the target will be well exceeded and critics, including some within the government, warn the RET will unnecessarily drive up retail power bills.
Mr Abbott said the government supported the “sensible use” of renewable energy, but times had changed since the former Liberal-National government helped establish the RET.
“We’ve got to accept though that in the changed circumstances of today the renewable energy target is causing pretty significant price pressure in the system,” he told AAP in the national capital, Canberra.
He said Australia should be an “affordable energy superpower”, with a small domestic market and comparatively cheap and abundant energy supply.
However,t “almost everything” in the past few years, starting with the carbon price, had conspired to drive up local prices, he added.
Industry Minister Ian Macfarlane said it made no sense that coal-fired power companies were producing energy at costs cheaper than five years ago, but manufacturers were still paying double.
Australia was facing an enormous challenge in terms of generating excess supply of electricity, he added.
“To be adding large quantities of generation into that situation has to be questioned,” he said.
“The (RET) review process will go through those things.”
Mr Abbott and Mr Macfarlane were speaking at a press conference today about assisting the manufacturing sector in light of the closure of major car maker General Motors Holden.
Mr Abbott announced a package of $100 million to assist the almost 3000 workers who will loose their jobs when GM Holden ceases manufacturing in 2017.
