Peter Dutton’s energy policy is a political death wish – and utterly irresponsible in the face of the climate emergency
eter Dutton’s proposed energy policy, in the face of our climate emergency, is utterly irresponsible. Not just irresponsible environmentally, but also economically. Given community attitudes, it looks like the silliest political death wish in recent history.of the price we are already paying for climate change. In property damage from floods and fires as well as lost agricultural production, the bills keep rolling in. .
Twenty years ago, a report to the Howard government showed we could reduce our greenhouse gas emissions by 30% simply by using more efficient technology with payback times of less than four years. That should be a top priority. The introduction of vehicle efficiency standards is a long-overdue step in that direction. We should also be lifting appliance efficiency towards international best practice. That would save consumers money as well as slowing climate change.
As well as being economically and environmentally irresponsible, the proposed policy is politically impossible. The Howard government legislated a ban on nuclear power 25 years ago. Coalition governments in power for most of the time since then made no attempt to repeal that law. Several states also have legislation prohibiting nuclear power.
So what about the politics? In the 2019 and 2022 elections, the Coalition lost seats such as Warringah and Kooyong, which have been under their control since time began. In every case, the independents elected campaigned on the need for more rapid action to slow climate change. The proposed policy is likely to strengthen the chances of all those independents being re-elected and increase the likelihood of their being joined by new winners in other seats.