Aussie momentum is rising for local weather finance for brand spanking new coal-fired energy vegetation – watts with that?
Guest essay by Eric Worrall
Great discomfort for representatives of the Australian coal mining districts; Will they oppose the government and support the vote to question coal for climate finance, or will they face the wrath of their voters, many of whom are miners?
Craig Kelly may support Barnaby Joyce’s CEFC amendment to allow coal investment
The former head of state announces that he will try to change his own government’s legislation
Katharine Murphy, Paul Karp and Adam Morton
Wed 17 Feb 2021 10:35 AEDT
Outspoken liberal backbencher Craig Kelly says he will look into an amendment by Barnaby Joyce that would allow Clean Energy Finance Corporation to invest in coal.
Joyce surprised the Liberals with a proposal on Tuesday night an amendment to the government’s CEFC law intended To enable new investments in coal-fired power plants with “high efficiency and low emissions”.
Just before the house adjourned for the evening, Joyce told the Chamber that he would propose a policy change for his own government because he was ready to put his “name on the paper” and advocate for jobs in the coal sector.
To quell a possible rebellion within their own ranks, the government withdrew the bill from the Rules of Procedure for Wednesday.
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Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/feb/16/barnaby-joyce-pushes-clean-energy-finance-amgement-to-allow-coal-investment
The Australian federal government’s takeover is precarious. Their majority in the House of Representatives is 2 – the government holds 77 out of 151 seats. The two members who have announced they will rebel may be enough to prevent bills from being passed on.
Influence in the Senate is even more precarious: the government controls a minority of the Senate seats, 36 out of 76, and needs at least three allies of other parties to pass laws. Some of the usual allies in the Senate, like One Nation Senators Pauline Hanson and Malcolm Roberts, are downright climate skeptics.
The government could possibly pass legislation with the help of opposition parties – but opposition politicians would charge a heavy price for their support, and it would be a great and potentially politically fatal embarrassment for the Prime Minister to turn to his opponents for resistance from his own party to overcome. And of course, some opposition MPs represent coal mining districts – so deciding what to support is as much a dilemma for them as it is for the government.
However, if the government does not pass a climate finance bill, money for renewable energy projects could run dry. Despite ridiculous claims that renewable energy is cheaper than coal, we all know what happens when government life support is withdrawn from wind and solar projects.
Let’s hope the Australian rebels hold on to their guns. I look forward to the delicious spectacle of Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison setting his climate record on the world stage while his government finances the construction of a coal-fired power station at home – a possible outcome of this rebellion.
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