Motion – That this House condemns calls from GetUp! To close all of Queensland’s coal and gas fired

1 Mar 2017 9:24 AMMichael Hart

 

 

Queensland Parliament Hansard Green

DATE: 28/02/2017

FILE: 28022017_000087_LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY_GREEN CHAMBER.DOCX

SUBJECT: (no subject found)

MEMBER: Mr HART

Mr HART (Burleigh—LNP) (6.00 pm): I move—

That this House condemns calls from GetUp! To close all of Queensland’s coal and gas fired power stations.

If someone were to go to the GetUp! Website, they would see its clean energy policy. For the benefit of members I can say that that that policy calls to lock in a commitment to legislate a renewable energy target, to accelerate the uptake of renewable energy—in fact, they want 100 per cent renewable energy—and to plan for the orderly closure of Queensland’s coal and gas fired power stations. I table that for the benefit of members.

Tabled paper: Document, undated, titled ‘GetUp!: Queensland’s clean energy future’.

While all members of the House are now aware of what is on the GetUp! website, one member of the House was well aware of it a lot earlier, that is, the member for Yeerongpilly. I know that the member for Yeerongpilly was aware of the position of GetUp! because on 1 October he used his personal email account to communicate that position to his ministerial advisers. I table a copy of an email that was obtained by the Queensland opposition under a right-to-information request that we made late last year.

Tabled paper: Email, dated 12 October 2016, from Tam van Alphen to Mark Bailey, regarding GetUp.

We know what the minister said to his ministerial advisers, but we do not know what the response was from the ministerial department. The email that I just tabled is blank at the bottom. It has a stamp that says that this RTI was refused under schedule 3(2) (1) (b) because of cabinet in confidence. There we have it: the member for Yeerongpilly and minister for energy has been using his private email address for cabinet business.

One has to ask: what did the Palaszczuk cabinet discuss around the position of GetUp!? Does the Palaszczuk government support legislating for a 50 per cent renewable target? Does the Palaszczuk government support closing down all of our coal fired and gas fired power stations? It would be nice to hear the minister discuss whether they do intend to legislate for a 50 per cent renewable energy target and if they do support closing down all of the coal fired and gas fired generators in this state.

Numerous times we have heard from businesses. I table a report by the Australian Industry Group titled Energy shock: no gas, no power, no future? That is exactly the issue that we are facing if we go down the path that GetUp! wants to take us and the path that the government wants to take us to achieve 50 per cent renewable energy.

Tabled paper: The Australian Industry Group: Energy Shock—No Gas, No Power, No Future?.

There is no doubt in my mind that if GetUp! has its way and we close the coal fired power stations, the Premier will not need to go to Mackay or Cairns to listen to Elton John sing Candle in the Wind, because, in fact, all that the people of Queensland will have left will be a candle and it will be blowing in the wind. They will be trying to cook their dinner and light their houses with a candle. During the last sitting week when they went off to see Bruce Springsteen, maybe he sang When the Lights Go Out, as they have been singing in South Australia lately because of the renewable energy target they have down there. In fact, they are looking to—

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