Action Stations

Activists are trying to commandeer the post-pandemic recovery agenda with energy policies that don’t even work during good times. They must be resisted. By Tim James.

Australia can and must have a renewable-energy-led recovery, they say. They’re wrong. It’s activism pretending to be policy debate. Now is not the time for activism but sensible, pro-growth policy on the road to recovery. 

The opportunism of some is simply stunning. The activist agenda neither rests nor reasons. While most Australians are focused on jobs, health, families and the post COVID-19 recovery, some see now as “a unique opportunity” for “the future we want” and “climate action we need”. So says the Australia Institute in hosting Warringah MP Zali Steggall to discuss the role of “climate action” in “rebuilding after the pandemic”. At least they’re honest – it’s what “we want”! And the true agenda further reveals itself as they speak out against a “gas-fired recovery”.

Don’t let a crisis go to waste if “climate action” is your raison d’etre.

The Australia Institute is pushing for 100% uptake of renewables saying it will save manufacturers billions. They demand the government “speed up the process” by developing “more consistent and supportive policy measures”, in other words one imagines, more subsidies. 

Renewable energy industry leaders claim their sector can lead Australia’s recovery from the COVID-19 crisis. The Clean Energy Council is calling for a “Clean Recovery” and reports that now is the time to transform Australia forever. 

Meanwhile, GetUp is saying Australia needs “big and bold government, with a solid plan to recover our economy” and calls for public funding for a “massive renewable industry”.

This activism and lobbying amidst COVID-19 belies not just the economic reality of this time but also the practical realities of energy supply. Now’s the time to rebuild not lead the revolution. It’s time for smart spending, not subsidies. And just ask any manufacturer for their views on the cost of energy in this country.

Energy Minister Angus Taylor joined the MRC for Watercooler Live #5 this week and made a number of salient points about the sector. He noted that even filmmaker Michael Moore has called out some of the realities that must be dealt with in the electricity sector. In particular, the intermittency of renewables.

He said: “We ultimately have to deliver power to a customer at a time and in a volume that the customer wants. This is a pretty basic business concept – you’ve got to deliver the customer what they want. And the truth is that if you’re reliant on the sun or the wind you may or may not be able to do that.” He went on to say, “when the sun doesn’t shine and the wind doesn’t blow, you’ve got to have a solution.”

At the same time he noted that renewables generate about 25 per cent of our energy and Australia tops the global league table around the world for investment on a per-capita basis. But it comes back to this question posed by Minister Taylor during Watercooler Live #5: “How do you turn it into an electricity load that meets the customers’ needs?”

Herein lies the problem for renewables, which the campaigners for a post-COVID “clean future” conveniently ignore. But still the activism and agitation is relentless. 

It’s no surprise that energy sector leaders point to the difficulties in developing stable, affordable and reliable energy due to the actions of activists. We can no longer afford these costs – and never could – but now must surely be the time for nation-building agendas over activist agendas. APPEA boss Andrew McConville wrote this week in The Australian about the 41 significant legislative changes, inquiries and reviews impacting the oil and gas sector. He rightly asserts that much of this “resulted from a deliberate campaign by activists and their political allies to delay and disrupt an industry that has operated without significant environmental impact for more than 50 years”. Australia deserves better than this.  

As the Australia Institute and others call for green stimulus packages, the energy sector that operates in the real world is calling for a reduction in green tape so we can lift energy supply and reduce the cost of energy. If the Member for Warringah was driven to practical real-world policies rather than an ideological activist agenda, she might think twice about making the case for climate action in rebuilding from a crisis.

Thankfully the Prime Minister has said, as reported in the Watercooler, that enterprise is at the heart of Australia’s recovery. Reality has well and truly kicked in for everyone in enterprise. Australia needs smart decisions, not sniping, self-interest and single-mindedness. Those who refuse to see reality because their agenda won’t allow it can no longer dictate terms. Encouragingly, the National COVID-19 Coordination Commission Chairman Nev Power has spoken of the opportunity to harness gas, which we have in abundance, to drive industry and growth in manufacturing. 

Australia’s recovery will be led by realism, not activism. Those demanding a renewable-energy-led recovery either don’t or choose not to understand the simple realities of the energy market. Renewables are important but do not hold the key to economic recovery. That’s an activist’s pipe-dream. The “future we want” rationale doesn’t cut it in recovery. It never should. Australia’s national interest must and will come before activist wants.