Greens confront Labor with Senate battle over gas producers’ compensation
Rather than producers being compensated the Greens say they should be paying for their climate damage.
New Daily
Dec 11 2022
The Greens will seek to vote down federal government plans to compensate coal companies that will be subject to price caps.
Parliament will be recalled on Thursday in order for the government to pass the energy plan that was agreed to at national cabinet on Friday.
The plan will see gas temporarily capped at $12 a gigajoule and coal at $125 a tonne in order to lessen the impact of rising energy costs.
However, Greens Leader Adam Bandt said his party would oppose attempts for compensation to be paid to coal and gas companies affected by the price caps.
“Coal corporations should be compensating the people,” he told reporters in Melbourne on Sunday.
“The package doesn’t look like it puts enough money in everyday people’s pockets to deal with rising energy bills, and crucially to help people get off expensive and dirty gas.
“The government’s measures look to be temporary, but the rise in gas prices is going to be permanent.”
The Greens will hold the balance of power in the Senate and the party is pushing for more financial support to households, including direct subsidies and grants for people to switch from gas to electric.
Mr Bandt said the Greens had yet to see the full legislation of the government’s energy plan.
Only temporary relief?
“People need more support than the government is offering,” Mr Bandt said.
“Without a plan to get people off gas, the price pain will start up again as soon as Labor’s temporary cap ends and we’ll be back here in 12 months’ time.”
The Greens party room will meet on Tuesday to decide its formal position.
The energy plan will also include $1.5 billion being provided by the federal government for energy bill relief measures, with money to be paid to eligible households and small businesses by state and territory governments.
Energy Minister Chris Bowen said gas companies had a social responsibility to keep prices low for customers.
“For anyone to argue that they need to make more than $12 a gigajoule is just ridiculous, and I don’t think that argument is going to hold any water,” Mr Bowen told Sky News on Sunday.
“This is Australian gas under Australian soil and Australians should pay a a fair price for that, but they shouldn’t be paying a wartime price leading to very high profits for a few companies and endangering industries right around the country.”
While the energy bill relief measures won’t kick in until the second quarter of 2023, Mr Bowen said they would provide much-needed financial support for households and businesses.
He said gas companies had an obligation to ensure fair prices.
“There were businesses and industries saying to us very clearly that they would have a lot of difficulty surviving next year in the face of gas prices and electricity prices being what they were,” he said.
‘Not our job’
“That’s (the job of gas companies) to defend those profits, it’s not our job. Our job is to act to the national interest, our job’s to defend the factories and the households around the country.”
Modelling has shown the average household would be $230 better off once the gas and coal price caps come into effect, with further savings expected once the energy bill relief measures begin.
However, opposition energy spokesman Ted O’Brien said the plan was a disaster.
“It is a monster in the making, because not only will it fail in the short term, but it is going to have a disastrous effect on the industry over the longer term because it kills supply,” he told Sky News on Sunday.
“Everybody is saying more supply is the answer here but one thing that government will not address is the need for more supply. They reject energy experts, independent agencies and the opposition.”
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Greens Senate Battle Over Gas Compensation (Read 602 times)
