Policy made in a panic rarely makes for good policy. Neither does the union tail wagging the Labor dog yet again. Both are on full display in Anthony Albanese’s panicked rush to be seen to be doing something on energy prices.
The panic is understandable, of course. Energy prices are a growing albatross around the government’s neck. Rightly so: during the election campaign, Albanese repeated nearly 100 times that his government would lower energy bills.
Instead, they’ve soared — and are set to increase by a staggering 30% in the next year. As opposition leader Peter Dutton says, we are rapidly heading down the same disastrous road as Europe and the UK: “Where they say they will either be able to heat or eat but not do both”.
The reason we’re in this situation is the same: a government obsessed with “renewables”. Blithely ignoring that everywhere renewables have made significant penetration, prices have soared in direct tandem, Energy Minister Chris Bowen insists that more renewables will bring prices down.
But reality is fast biting this leader on the arse. To the fury of the Greens and Teals, Albanese has suddenly discovered just how badly we really need fossil fuels.
The only problem is what he’s doing about it.
Anthony Albanese is moving to revamp the gas industry’s code of conduct to put downward pressure on prices, as unions say the government has not done enough to bring energy costs down for manufacturers.
The Australian understands the federal government is assessing inserting a price provision in the industry code created by the Morrison government, which was mostly focused on ensuring gas producers provided enough supply for the domestic market.
In other words, old-fashioned, socialist, price-fixing.
And Labor’s union string-pullers are behind it, of course.
Australian Workers Union national secretary Daniel Walton [said…]
“The government has a choice: defend the insane super profits gas exporters are making from the Ukraine war or defend the future of Australian manufacturing and the hundreds of thousands of jobs it supports” […]
The government has been considering reforming the Australian Domestic Gas Security Mechanism so the export trigger can be invoked when prices are high, rather than its existing function to ensure there is enough supply.
The Australian
…Aaand there it is. The Rudd/Gillard MRRT (mining super tax) is back on the agenda.
In which case — bring it on. The MRRT issue brought down Rudd and almost sent Labor to one-term oblivion. If they’re dumb enough to try it on again, pass the popcorn.
In the meantime, no one is fooled by the bluff and bluster: we all know that the insane zealotry for “renewables” is what sent prices soaring in Britain and Europe, even before the war in Ukraine, and is sending them soaring here, too.
Once the blackouts start, the government is out of excuses.
