With Scott Morrison gunning to use the findings of the King Review to back greenwashing attempts by the fossil fuel industry, the Greens say they will fight the government's moves to redirect public funds to coal and gas. Led by gas industry giants and fossil fuel advocates, the King Review suggests that efforts should be spent cleaning up emissions, not trying to prevent them in the first instance. There are three major changes proposed:

Australian Greens Leader Adam Bandt MP has slammed Angus Taylor’s dim-witted plan to ditch support for solar and wind in favour of unproven and ineffective Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) technology.

In a speech today, the Energy and Emissions Reduction Minister will signal a shift away from renewables towards Carbon Capture and Storage and brown hydrogen.

“Angus Taylor’s one KPI is in his job description and he can’t even meet it,” said Mr Bandt.

The Greens have referred the legislation to build a nuclear waste dump in South Australia to a Senate Inquiry for scrutiny of the laws and the process that led to this point.

“The Coalition has decided Kimba on SA’s Eyre Peninsula, home to some of the country’s best agricultural land, is the place to dump the nation’s radioactive waste,” South Australian Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said.

Australian Greens Leader Adam Bandt has called for a growth in ‘renewables mining’ jobs and a phase out of thermal coal as part of the Green New Deal to unlock Australia’s potential as a clean energy superpower.

Comment from Greens Leader Adam Bandt MP:

“A growth in ‘renewables mining’ jobs as we phase out coal is an important part of the Green New Deal.

“Government needs to take the reins and oversee the transition so we grow jobs and industries, including in areas where coal mines and power stations exist at the moment.

Australian Greens Senator for NSW, Dr Mehreen Faruqi, has said Labor and the Coalition have betrayed the Central Coast and Newcastle Community by voting down a Greens motion calling for genuine community consultation on Asset Energy’s plan to conduct seismic testing for gas.

Greens Senator for South Australia Sarah Hanson-Young today welcomed the announcement SA’s ‘big battery’ would be expanded following investment by the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) and the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA).

Senator Hanson-Young who chaired the Senate Select Committee into the Resilience of Australia’s Electricity Infrastructure said the funding decision shows renewable energy generation does stack up and is where SA’s future lies.

Greens climate and energy spokesperson Adam Bandt MP has slammed the government’s latest push for carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology, dismissing it as a useless pipedream.

“As the climate bushfires continue to devastate the country, the government’s only climate proposal is a pipedream,” said Mr Bandt.

I rise to speak to the Treasury Laws Amendment (Prohibiting Energy Market Misconduct) Bill 2019. We know that this government will use the power in this bill to keep coal-fired power stations operating for longer. This is all about funnelling taxpayer money to coal-fired power stations. We also know that the future is in renewable energy—the future of our country, the future of our planet and all those who live on it, the future of our young people and the future of those who need a just transition from coal into long-term sustainable jobs.

A report on electricity prices released today by the Australian Energy Regulator confirms that electricity bills were lower when the Greens/Labor carbon price was in effect than they are now under the Liberals, said Greens energy spokesperson, Adam Bandt.
 
“Electricity bills were lower under the Greens/Labor carbon price than they are now under the Liberals, and back then we were also cutting climate pollution,” said Mr Bandt.
 
“The regulator has belled the cat.