Minister to lay out vision for energy
Cabinet minister Josh Frydenberg is expected to throw a cat among the pigeons when he makes his case for letting market forces determine the future of Australia's energy generation.
Mr Frydenberg will push for the adoption of the federal government's national energy guarantee in a speech at the National Press Club on Wednesday, emphasising that there will be no more subsidies for coal-fired power stations.
The move is likely to anger the coal lobby in the coalition partyroom as they pitch the idea of a government takeover of the Liddell power station.
"The answer lies neither in a war on coal nor the nationalisation of our energy assets," Mr Frydenberg says in an extract of his speech that has been provided to media.
"Sadly, positions today are being based on ideology, not engineering.
"The future of energy policy must be determined by the proper consideration of the public's best interest, not ideologically-driven predisposition.
"While fossil fuels will be critical long into the future, we also have to recognise that our national fleet of 20 coal-fired power stations have an average age of 27 years. While they may well not live forever, there is plenty of life left in them."
Mr Frydenberg says Australian households are paying the cost of subsidies for coal and renewable energy and the time had come for the two sides to fight for their survival in a neutral market place.
