If Labor was of a mind for mischief, it would endorse the Prime Minister’s energy policy. It would declare that it resembled an emissions intensity scheme and therefore was a suitable bipartisan mechanism for achieving our emissions abatement goals — should there be a government that is serious about climate change — while providing certainty for investors. And it would note that voters shouldn’t believe the price fall forecasts being peddled by the government.
The goal of the policy, as even conservative commentators are openly acknowledging, is to create a battleground on energy for the Coalition to attempt to haul in Labor’s big polling lead. A political strategy deserves a political response, and the best political response would be to give Turnbull the last thing he wants — a bipartisan energy policy. And by justifying Labor’s support for the sake of certainty and investment will enable Bill Shorten to appear statespersonlike and above the fray.
But better yet, it would fuel the insecurity within Coalition ranks that the emissions guarantee really is an emissions intensity scheme that Turnbull has managed to sneak past them. True, the guarantee could function like an emissions intensity scheme, with companies purchasing renewables to reduce the average intensity of their suite of power products, but it is therefore coupled with a reliability intensity scheme as well, within which coal has been (absurdly) defined to be a “dispatchable” power source. Retailers and generators may therefore be trading both clean and dirty energy to meet their guarantees (and by the way, what happens if a retailer refuses to meet a guarantee? Will the government seriously force them to switch off? Can’t see that happening in the middle of summer).
We already know the coal-fired fossils of the backbench like Abbott and Canavan have jacked up about the emissions guarantee. Labor’s endorsement will be all they need to declare it a Crime Against Coal.
For extra mischief, Labor could make their support conditional on Turnbull guaranteeing the price falls he says will happen, perhaps via a legislated increase Family Tax Benefit payments to make up for any shortfall of the $115 a year promised by the government. That would be very nasty indeed, and a lot of fun.
Can’t we come up with policies that achieve positive outcomes? I’m just so over polices that have the sole intention of shoring up your position and hurting the opposition.
Sadly Saugoof, we have shown that we (ie our politicians) are incapable of achieving policy that will result in positive outcomes.
Hence the best thing for Labor to do is follow BK’s advice allow this “NEG” to pass and just watch the LNP tear themselves as they surely will so-ever the “member” for Warringah is around.
BTW, I really do believe that Abbott is hanging around because its a pretty easy way to earn a quid; besides working anywhere else would mean he’d actually have to WORK; feels so sorry for us taxpaying mugs
Abbott is a male version of Bronwyn Bishop. The thought of being a nobody frightens him sick.
Sure, it could work. And then when you get into government, you could throw Tony Abbott and Malcolm Turnbull’s words back on them, that you are going to go further than them in ensuring that no energy subsidies are paid, and you are going to announce changes that currently work exactly the same as subsidies, in particular for coal and fossil fuels.
The diesel rebate, gone, miners to start paying real amounts into escrow accounts for mine rehabilitation (may not be possible for the feds, it’s a state issue, but the income tax act is pretty flexible), paying compensation for damages to farms and local areas where coal dust destroys crops and makes lives miserable, no more easy deals for train lines to haul coal, no infrastructure hand-ups to Adani and the rest of the shysters, no acquisition of land currently under productive use for the purposes of coal seam gas exploration.
Just for starters, let’s get a real ‘technology agnostic, subsidy free’ energy market going. I’d pay to see that.
All very well & good imagining that tactic but it would need bumBoil Shlernt to have the inclination, never mind the ability, to stand against his owners, the BigAr$e end of town including the legacy trade unionists.
Breath. Not. Held.
Do it Bill!