Greens push to extend RET, warn Labor not to capitulate on coal

Greens climate change and energy spokesperson Adam Bandt MP has introduced legislation into parliament today to extend the Renewable Energy Target and urged the Labor party not to cut a deal with the government on a Clean Energy Target that includes coal, as was publicly mooted last week, warning it may set back investment in renewables.

It's time to reregulate electricity prices: Greens

Greens climate change and energy spokesperson Adam Bandt MP has said Malcolm Turnbull’s tea party with big power bosses won’t bring down bills.

Instead, Mr Bandt urged the Prime Minister to adopt Greens policy and move towards reregulating electricity prices to reduce power bills that are spiralling out of control.

“Deregulating electricity prices has failed. It is time the government stepped in and capped electricity prices,” said Mr Bandt.

Turnbull’s fireside chat with electricity retailers won’t stop price increases: Bandt

Greens climate change and energy spokesperson Adam Bandt MP today said that Malcolm Turnbull can fly big retailers to Canberra and beg them to reduce prices, but unless he’s willing to adopt Greens policy to re-regulate electricity prices, or secure further commitments in his next scheduled meetings, costs will continue to rise for consumers.

“Malcolm Turnbull is trying to regulate the words on power bills but the Greens want to regulate the price,” said Mr Bandt.

Greens push to re-regulate electricity prices

The Australian Greens will move to cap electricity prices in a push for the government to reregulate the retail electricity sector.

In the National Electricity Market, where the Commonwealth has influence, the Commonwealth would give states where retail electricity prices are currently deregulated (VIC, NSW, SA & parts of QLD) until the end of 2017 to re-regulate prices.

Renewables won’t kill people, but coal will: Bandt

Greens climate and energy spokesperson Adam Bandt MP today responded to claims by the Liberals’ new chief propaganda peddler Craig Kelly that people will die because of renewables.

“No they won’t,” said Mr Bandt.

“Coal kills people. Renewables save lives.

“Craig Kelly is just another ideologue, hell bent on hastening dangerous global warming. This latest foray isn’t unexpected, but it is certainly unfounded.

Natural gas blowing our carbon budget: Bandt

Responding to today’s release of greenhouse pollution data that the government had tried to keep secret, Greens climate change and energy spokesperson Adam Bandt MP said that LNG production and coal seam gas were blowing the country’s carbon budget and taking us off-track to even meeting the Liberals’ paltry emissions targets.

“After being caught out trying to keep pollution data secret, the government has released the figures and they paint a grim picture,” said Mr Bandt.

Greens will move for release of secret pollution data

In response to reports today that the Federal government is concealing pollution data, Greens climate and energy spokesperson Adam Bandt MP said that the Greens will move in the Senate for a release of these documents when Parliament returns.

“Pollution is rising under this government and it is probably even worse than we thought,” said Mr Bandt.

“Hiding the data about pollution won’t reduce pollution. Pretending pollution isn’t rising won’t make it so.

Greens ready to back government reining in electricity networks

The Australian Greens have said they are ready to back moves to start reining in spending by power network companies, as announced by the Turnbull government today. However, the Greens are more cautious about the push to require AEMO to look at dispatchable generation, as it seems predicated on coal-fired generation remaining in the system for an unreasonably long time.

Quotes attributable to Senator Larissa Waters, Greens Deputy Leader and mining and resources spokesperson: 

The review of Australia's energy markets handed down today by Chief Scientist Dr Alan Finkel is more interested in fixing a political problem for Malcolm Turnbull and Bill Shorten than in addressing the great issue of our times, dangerous global warming, said leader of the Australian Greens Dr Richard Di Natale and Greens Climate Change Spokesperson Adam Bandt MP.

"The goal should be to stop dangerous climate change, not find a political fix that won’t keep the climate safe or save the reef," Dr Di Natale said.

Shorten’s olive branch on Finkel looks more like a white flag: Bandt

Greens climate and energy spokesperson Adam Bandt has warned Bill Shorten about signing up to a Low Emissions Target (LET) that’s even weaker than what John Howard proposed in 2007. Bill Shorten’s letter to the Prime Minister today suggests Labor’s ‘olive branch’ is more a white flag of surrender in the ‘climate wars’.

“Labor should not end the ‘climate wars’ by surrendering and waving the white flag,” said Mr Bandt.

“Labor’s ‘olive branch’ looks more like a white flag.