Leader of the opposition Peter Dutton MP during Question Time at Parliament House in Canberra, Australia on Feb. 14, 2023. (Martin Ollman/Getty Images)
Opposition leader Peter Dutton is warning Australian families could be in for soaring power bills if the federal government continues with its proposal to limit gas supply in the Australian energy market.
“One of the most important debates in our country, as I say, is energy policy,” Dutton said in Melbourne on April 4.
“We’ve supported much of what the Albanese government has done in relation to their investment in renewable technologies, but the first step that they took was to price fix, which doesn’t work here and it’s not worked anywhere around the world.
“We know that power prices aren’t coming down. On the contrary, they’re set to rise by 20 percent or more on the 1st of July for almost 250,000 businesses and 1.6 million households. “
Dutton is calling for the federal government to have a genuine conversation on reliable and affordable baseload power, which currently provides 65 percent of Australia’s power and which he believes the government may turn off before other systems are ready.
He also wants the Albanese government to reconsider gas as a transitory power as the push to net-zero continues.
“Gas in our country is in huge demand, and the government now decides to limit supply, which of course, drives up prices even further. And they are now talking about new projects being stopped altogether. That will only increase power prices further,” he said.
“The reality is that we need reliable baseload power to keep the fridges running at the IGA and keep the air conditioning running in small businesses around the country.
Dutton was also concerned that any failure in supply would send manufacturing offshore, which he argues is “an untenable position for business.”
Government Alleges Energy Prices On the Way Down
However, the federal government has said that they have helped shield Australians from the worst energy price rises.
Minister for Climate Change and Energy Chris Bowen said in a media release that recent draft increases in the Default Market Offer (DMO) for electricity showed that the government’s actions on energy had worked.
The DMO, which is set by the Australian Energy Regulator (AER), is the maximum price that electricity retailers in New South Wales, South Australia, and south-east Queensland can charge customers from July 1, 2023—with the majority, around 90 percent, up to 29 percentage points lower than the AER projected in late 2022.
The government estimates this means potential increases between $268 and $530 were avoided for households and up to $1,243 additional increase avoided for small business customers.
“The government, faced with large increases in the DMO, urgently acted to curb spiralling prices of gas and coal and shield Australian families and businesses from the worst of these energy price spikes,” Bowen said.
Australia's Shadow Minister for Climate Change and Energy Chris Bowen speaks to media during a press conference in the Mural Hall at Parliament House in Canberra, Australia, on June 23, 2021. (Sam Mooy/Getty Images)
“We know there is more to do, which is why our Energy Price Relief Plan also included consumer and small business rebates—additional, targeted assistance to those who need it most.
“And over the medium to long-term, we are driving the transformation to 82 percent renewables by 2030 with Rewiring the Nation and our Capacity Investment Scheme because firmed renewable energy is the cheapest form of energy.”
Nuclear Power Needs To be Considered
Dutton has previously stated he believes that the government needs to consider nuclear power and has questioned the government’s renewable power plan, which he said will need to construct 40 wind turbines every month, 22,000 solar panels every day, and roll out 28,000 kilometres of transmission lines by 2050, which he argues will cost an estimated $100 billion dollars.
A man fishes with the towering Dukovany nuclear power plant in the background in Dukovany, Czech Republic, on Sept. 27, 2011. (Petr David Josek/AP Photo)
“To be honest, it’s just not realistic, and there is certainly no regard to the cost—$100 billion is not going to be absorbed by companies or by the government—it’s going to be passed on to you as consumers,” Dutton said.
“So we need to have a realistic discussion in our judgement about the use of small modular reactor nuclear technology.”
Victoria Kelly-Clark is an Australian based reporter who focuses on national politics and the geopolitical environment in the Asia-pacific region, the Middle East and Central Asia.
