Greens Running Out Of Gas
The Greens have brought their latest campaign for higher energy prices, higher taxes and more regulation to the Victorian Parliament.
Greens MP Dr Ratnam moved a motion calling on a Labor Minister to revoke their consent to Beach Energy’s operations within the Port Campbell National Park, on the basis that we need to “Save the Twelve Apostles”.
The supply of renewable energy to Victoria’s electricity grid, which the Greens so strongly champion, is only possible with the supply of gas from Port Campbell to the backup Mortlake gas-fired power station.
Mrs McArthur led the debate for the Coalition and said, “The Greens have disgracefully weaponised the much-loved iconic site of the Twelve Apostles to push their anti-gas agenda.”
“They want to ban drilling beneath the Port Campbell National Park to prevent imminent supposedly dangerous drilling – but there’s already been safe drilling occurring there for some time!”
“But let’s not allow the truth get in the way of winning back Northcote from the Labor Party, because this is what this is really all about.”
“This campaign is driven by an ideological opposition to gas that emanates from inside the inner-city tram track suburbs of Melbourne, but affects a business more than 150km away and will further cripple the state’s gas supply.”
Mrs McArthur said that “the great fallacy propagated by the Greens and their allies in the radical left is that advocacy for gas exploration is motivated by an aversion to renewable energy.”
“Unbeknown to the Greens, only a small fraction of the state’s gas supply is used in gas-powered energy generation.”
“The vast majority is used for residential and industrial purposes.”
“The domestic gas market is comprised of 45% being used for industrial purposes, such as fertiliser manufacturers, milk processing, glass making and in many other industries; 36% being used for residential and commercial purposes, for households and small businesses; and only 19% for gas-powered energy generation.”
“When we are talking about gas exploration, what we are really talking about is minimising costs for thousands of regional businesses across the state.”
“We are talking about dairy processing, abattoirs, kiln dried plantation timber, and a huge variety of other businesses that crucially depend on the use of gas in their production lines. Electricity doesn’t cut it.”
“Reduced gas supply will result in more expensive gas, which will mean less production, fewer jobs and reduced economic benefits to rural and regional areas. But when have the Greens ever cared about that?”
When Dr Ratnam raised the Beach Energy development in Question Time in September, where she cited an analysis conducted by Northmore Gordon as a solution to “prevent any so-called gas shortfall by stopping all new gas connections and supporting households to replace gas heating and gas hot water with efficient electric appliances.”
Mrs McArthur said, “the proposal supported by the Greens would mean that gas cooling and heating units would be replaced by ones that are electricity powered. Natural gas is delivered to the home at a quarter of the emissions compared with grid electricity.”
“The Greens want to increase household emissions from their cooling and heating systems by four-fold. What utter hypocrisy!”
“Imagine that – the Greens are opposing gas on the basis of supposedly fighting climate change, and essentially arguing that it should be replaced by appliances that emit more emissions. This is comical.”
“The Greens are also advocating for 600,000 plus ducted gas space heating units in Victorian homes to be replaced with reverse-cycle air conditioners. How does Dr Ratnam propose we should enforce these bans on gas appliances?”
“Is Dr Ratnam proposing that we have more authorised officers marching through homes to arrest old ladies heating themselves with gas heaters? Don’t boil your kettle on the gas stove, or the Greens would have the police kick your door down.”
The report also noted that the replacement of gas units with electric-powered units would cost between $6,380 for a “working family” to $8,270 for a “large house”.
Mrs McArthur said, “In essence, the Greens’ solution to the gas crisis facing Victoria is to tax working families $6000 to $8000. This is unconscionable.”
“In all their virtue signalling about environmentalism, the end result is always the same. Higher prices for families. Higher taxes for individuals. More regulation for wealth-creating businesses.”
“When have you ever heard the Greens commend a private corporation for their impressive efforts in research and development or innovation to create new low-emission technologies? Never – it always comes back to an apparent need for more government, more wealth redistribution and more crippling of free enterprise.”
“The scaremongering about this exemplary project is truly unhinged.”
Mrs McArthur called on the Upper House to vote against the motion in “support of regional businesses, Victoria’s economy, thousands of jobs, lower gas and energy prices, and common sense.”
The Greens motion was overwhelmingly defeated, with only Dr Ratnam, Animal Justice Party MP Andy Meddick, Sustainable Australia MP Clifford Hayes and Reason Party MP Fiona Patten, voting in favour.
14 October 2021
