Greens push for national takeover of energy market after COAG fails on renewables
Greens energy spokesperson Adam Bandt today said that the Greens will push to give the Commonwealth power for a national takeover of the energy market after the COAG meeting of Energy Ministers failed to deliver a co-operative plan to support renewable energy. Mr Bandt said the Greens will move when Parliament resumes to amend the national electricity laws to make cutting pollution an overriding goal of the energy system.
“Our national electricity market is out of date and incapable of managing and driving the shift to clean energy, yet energy ministers have failed to tackle this problem,” Mr Bandt said.
"If only energy ministers could act as quickly on renewables as they have on gas."
"Increasing the gas supply and reviewing interconnection rules won't fix the problems in the network that allow dirty power companies to game the system and slow the take up of renewables."
"The energy laws need to be amended to make pollution reduction an overriding objective. Otherwise life will just get harder for those who want to plug batteries and renewables into the grid."
“The Greens will move for national legislation that overrides existing arrangements and makes cutting pollution an objective of our electricity system, which will help drive the necessary rapid transition to clean renewable energy.”
Media contact: Adam Pulford, 0429 109 054