NOT a single effort has been made by Australia’s major parties to invest in reliable, low-cost and low-emission power sources while poor government policy has led to gas producers closing their doors to domestic markets.  

Responding to reports that gas producers are hesitant in entering new supply contracts^[1] due to the Federal Government’s $12GJ price cap, Kennedy MP Bob Katter said both major parties had failed to address long-term, reliable supply of energy.  

Mr Katter also criticised the Member for Wannon’s Dan Tehan’s comments^[2] who labelled Labor’s price cap policy a “failure” and called for it to be scrapped.  

“I fear that the Member for Wannon has had a terrible fall off his horse on the Road to Damascus. I think it’s affected half his brain because he is one of the many that led the triumphant march to Net Zero by 2050 and yet they have not carried out a single act to achieve that goal,” Mr Katter said.   

“It obviously affected half his brain because he cannot remember that one of the biggest power stations in Australia announced its closure a few months before the election^[3]. If they had courage of their convictions, they would have announced its non-closure. 

“The major parties just don’t get the message; there is a third force out there in politics – and I call them ‘The Others’.  

“More people voted for The Others than for the ALP and the LNP at the last election, so don’t make attention-grabbing grand proclamations that we are going to be Net Zero by 2050 one minute, and then ask to rewrite energy policy the next.” 

While economists and experts have suggested price caps will cause long-term price hikes^[4], Mr Katter said it was a shame the country’s leaders hadn’t looked to High Efficiency, Low Emission (HELE) coal-fired power stations – which would provide cheap, reliable baseload power, reduce CO2 output and protect the critical royalties-generating coal industry.  According to the Minerals Council of Australia^[5], hundreds of HELE power stations were “already in operation, under construction or planned in Europe, North America and East Asia led by China and Japan,” and were reducing CO2 emissions by up to 40 per cent. 

“The only solution the majors – the ALP/LNP – have come up with is a ’20-year short-term fix’ of solar panels and wind turbines that are a super expensive answer to a pathetic effort to overcome the unreliability,” he said.  

“By 2050, almost every solar panel in Australia will need to be replaced and almost every wind farm currently being built in Australia will have ceased operating. 

“I am confident that our state team, when they win the balance of power at the next state election will move on the critical initiatives which will reduce emissions in Australia without expending our mining communities. 

“It is absolutely amazing to me that the four of us in the KAP can come up with a plan that does not involve chopping down trees to put up wind farms and solar panels that’ll run out of juice after 20 years. 

“And it’s even more unbelievable that this lack of foresight and unparalleled irresponsibility is happening at the same time that they are spending $62 million^[6] on a project that will not produce a single megawatt of cheap and reliable energy.” 

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