Building new coal-fired power stations should be market's decision, Turnbull says

Malcolm Turnbull says it is better the market decides whether or not to build a new coal-fired power station in Australia rather than delivering that outcome through government intervention.

 PM says as ageing coal-fired plants close the government
must ensure there is enough baseload power, and the
technology to deliver it ‘should be judged on its merits’.

The prime minister was asked at an economic forum in Melbourne on Thursday whether the government would intervene to see new coal plants constructed, or whether it would leave that decision to the market.

Nationals, including the deputy prime minister, Barnaby Joyce, favour the construction of new coal-fired power, or the retrofitting of existing coal assets to extend their operating life, and have tied the future of coal to the resolution of a new national energy policy following the Finkel review.

The Minerals Council of Australia is also campaigning behind the scenes in Canberra to ensure “clean” coal is in the mix as the government responds to the Finkel review.

Read Katharine Murphy’s story on The Guardian - “Building new coal-fired power stations should be market's decision, Turnbull says.”

(This idea from Malcolm Turnbull illustrates conclusively that he misunderstands completely the seriousness of climate change and his ideological belief in the intelligence of the market-system is misguided as it is the “market" that has brought humanity to the edge of the abyss - we need, urgently, government intervention, just as the world had when it was preparing to embark on the Second World War. This is clearly one of those moments when “public” clearly trumps “private” - Robert McLean).