Australian Government Dumps Clean Energy Target, Rolls Out New 'Affordable' Energy Plan

The Coalition party room agreed on Tuesday, October 17, to discard their clean energy legislation, replacing it with what Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said was a more “neutral” and “affordable” plan called the National Energy Guarantee (NEG).

“This is a credible, workable, pro-market policy that delivers lower electricity prices. It means no subsidies, no taxes, no trading systems and what it does do, is to create a more reliable, affordable energy system,” Energy Minister Josh Frydenberg said.

Under NEG, retailers need to use coal, gas, batteries and pumped hydro as sources of a percentage of their electricity. A day earlier, the government dumped the Clean Energy Target (CET), which forced electric companies to take some of their power from low-emissions technology, the ABC reported.

The move was slammed by the Greens and the Labor party, with Greens Senator Rachel Siewert saying Turnbull was bowing to pressure from others in the party, including former Prime Minister Tony Abbott.

“Today’s announcement shows that Mr Turnbull is fully owned by Tony Abbott. Make no mistake: Coal kills, and I’ll be damned if I let this government get away with killing our future,” Siewert said. Credit: Malcolm Turnbull via Storyful