Greens Leader Adam Bandt has expressed disappointment at Labor’s capitulation to Scott Morrison’s plan to give $600 million in public money to Snowy Hydro to build a gas-fired power plant that experts say we don’t need.
In 2021 Labor said the plan looked like “a cynical attempt to pick a fight on gas and continue the climate wars, or to reward the major Liberal donor who owns the Kurri Kurri site.
The Greens also said non-binding ideas of converting to green hydrogen down the line are a fig leaf for new gas infrastructure.
Greens leader, Adam Bandt MP said:
“Gas is as dirty as coal. This power plant is Scott Morrison’s Trojan horse for more methane gas, and now Labor is backing it too.
“If you’re spending public money on new coal and gas projects, you’re not serious about tackling the climate crisis.
“Public money should go to schools and hospitals, not dirty gas plants that aren’t needed and will make the climate crisis worse.
“The Liberals have got to go, but with Labor wanting more coal and gas, the only way to get climate action is to put the Greens in balance of power.
“Non-binding pledges about green hydrogen don’t stop this from being a terrible idea. The Kurri Kurri plan is so flawed that there is a major risk that it will run on diesel before it ever runs on hydrogen.
“Currently there is no gas to feed the proposed plan, which is why it is planned to run on diesel for up to 12 months, after which new gas fields like Narrabri will be fracked to supply Kurri Kurri.
“It’s stupid to use public money to build a methane-fuelled power plant that may some day be powered by something else instead of just building more renewables and storage right now.”
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