The LNP has just thrown Queensland’s mining sector under the bus and thrown its lot in with Labor, the Greens and GetUp. Promising to jump from the cheap, affordable power generation offered by coal fired power stations, LNP Leader Deb Frecklington has guaranteed that no Queenslanders will have cheap, reliable power with the major parties at a time when almost all households are struggling.
GetUp! environmental spokesman Sam Regester had this to say about Ms Frecklinton’s pledge:
“Genuinely I am staggered. Thrilled, yes, and staggered,”
We should be supporting our mining industry, including coal mining, investing in modern coal-fired power stations and lowering energy prices!
Read the full story below, and leave a comment on the Australian article here.
GetUp! Lauds LNP Energy Plan
Queensland’s new Liberal National leader Deb Frecklington has won plaudits from GetUp! over her plans for state-owned renewables to prepare the state for “a future beyond coal”.
As reported in The Australian this morning, the Opposition Leader extended an olive branch to swinging voters by promising to instruct state-owned energy companies to transition to green power.
GetUp! environmental spokesman Sam Regester said Ms Frecklington’s pledge for publicly owned renewables had “just changed the paradigm of Queensland politics”.
“Genuinely I am staggered. Thrilled, yes, and staggered,” he tweeted. “This from the party whose election platform was paying to build a new coal power station. Wowee.”
Ms Frecklington’s speech also committed to aircondition every state school classroom, noting 2017 was Queensland’s hottest year on record, and to roadworks including a new motorway between Brisbane and the Gold Coast.
Guaranteeing there would be “no new taxes” under a first-term LNP government, Ms Frecklington said: “It’s clear this state is stagnating. We need to take action if Queensland is to start climbing the economic ladder again.”
State Development Minister Cameron Dick ridiculed Ms Frecklington’s renewables plan as “simply not credible” given the LNP had recently campaigned on plans to privatise energy companies and fast-track a new coal-fired power station.
“Her policy about-face on renewable energy has elevated the political backflip to an Olympic sport in which she would get the gold medal,” Mr Dick said.
Innovation Minister Kate Jones suggested Ms Frecklington’s renewables plan was designed to “sweeten the pot” before reviving plans to sell the generator companies.
On renewables, Ms Frecklington said: “An LNP Government would mandate government-owned energy companies to support renewable energy generation.
“We would work with the Australian Energy Market Operator to find the right mix of electricity generation to ensure our electricity supply is affordable, secure and clean.
“I promise Queenslanders that the LNP will plan for a future beyond coal.
“These government-owned businesses need a future beyond the current generation stock and should be allowed to look at new technologies when it makes economic sense to do so.”
In her speech, Ms Frecklington also committed to the Brisbane Metro, real-time monitoring of petrol prices and deregulating energy prices in regional Queensland.
Mr Frecklington said she was “very proud” of the LNP’s record on healthcare, pledging to introduce incentives for hospitals and private-sector partnerships to improve outcomes.
She committed to supporting both greater school autonomy and greater oversight of curriculums to ensure studies were focused on language, literacy and numeracy.
Mr Dick said the “no new taxes” pledge, which came with a commitment to also reduce debt, meant an incoming LNP government would have no option but to slash public service budgets.
The post GetUp! Greens Agenda Praises LNP Energy Plan appeared first on onenation.org.au.
Leave a comment
All comments are moderated before being published.
This site is protected by hCaptcha and the hCaptcha Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.