Bloomberg - James Thornhill
‣ Voters prioritize lower electricity bills over emission cuts
‣ Ruling coalition narrows poll gap with Labor as election nears
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| Photographer: Carla Gottgens/Bloomberg |
A new poll shows Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s focus on
getting power bills down may be starting to pay dividends. But it also
suggests his failure to establish a coherent narrative on tackling
climate change could hurt his government at the ballot box.
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Scott Morrison
Photographer: Mark Graham/Bloomberg
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Morrison’s predecessor Malcolm Turnbull was ousted as prime minister
in August after an internal rift in the ruling Liberal Party over energy
policy -- specifically his plan to include carbon emission reduction
targets in the now-abandoned National Energy Guarantee.
When Morrison appointed Angus Taylor to the energy portfolio,
he gave him the snappy informal title of “minister for reducing
electricity prices.” Morrison and Taylor both say the nation can’t
depend on renewable energy, instead touting coal as power you can rely
on “when the sun isn’t shining and the wind isn’t blowing.”
Monday’s
poll will offer Morrison encouragement that he’s closing down the main
opposition Labor party’s lead ahead of a national election expected in
May next year. The poll showed Labor’s lead over the ruling coalition
narrowing to a 52-48 split on a two-party preferred basis, from 55-45 in
October.
Cheap Power Trumps Climate Concerns
Poll asks what should be the top priority for Australia's energy policy
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| Fairfax-Ipsos poll |
Labor leader Bill Shorten wants more ambitious climate targets than the
government, but has yet to fully flesh out his energy plans. He’s set to
do that this week, when he gives a major speech on energy at a
BloombergNEF event in Sydney on Thursday.
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Bill Shorten
Photographer: Brendon Thorne/Bloomberg
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Labor voters are far more likely to see climate change as the most
pressing priority for energy policy -- 53 percent in the poll said it
should be the main focus -- so in that sense Shorten is playing to his
base. The challenge for him now is to simultaneously keep up the
pressure on energy suppliers to keep prices contained.
Morrison and Taylor may have earned some credit with voters for exerting
pressure
on the big energy retailers, but they are also dealing with a backlash
over their lukewarm attitude toward renewables. Morrison says he is
confident Australia will meet its Paris climate targets -- reducing
emissions by at least 26 percent below 2005 levels by 2030 -- but is yet
to articulate a clear policy for achieving that.
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