PRIME MINISTER: Now more than ever, Australians need affordable and reliable electricity, affordable and reliable energy, as we meet our emissions reductions targets.
We’ve seen in South Australia in 41-degrees heat, what happens when governments follow an ideological approach to energy, with no plan; complacently assuming that things would sort themselves out, without putting in place the measures to secure their electricity network.
We will provide the leadership Australians need so that families, businesses, get the power that they need, that businesses need to deliver the investment and the jobs that Australians deserve in the future.
We’ve seen a shocking failure of leadership by Labor’s state Governments and of course, we see in Western Australia the Labor opposition proposing a 50 per cent renewables target.
Again, just like in South Australia, with no plan for the future.
We see Bill Shorten proposing higher and higher emissions reductions targets. Higher and high renewables targets. Again, just like South Australia, with no plan.
We can’t afford to go the way South Australia has, which has the most expensive and the least reliable electricity in Australia.
Bad for jobs. Bad for business. Bad for families.
So we’ve got a lot to do. It’s a complex issue, let’s get to work.