Nationals party votes to remove all subsidies for renewable energy

The Nationals have voted to remove all subsidies for renewable energy providers over a five-year period and to freeze them at their current level for the next year.

Barnaby Joyce: "We have no problem in coal fire power."

The vote at the party's federal conference in Canberra on Saturday marks the start of a new campaign among party members against renewables, as energy policy gets set to dominate Parliament again when it resumes this week.

Renewable energy sources such as wind and solar are set to receive subsidies of up to $2.8 billion a year up to 2030, according to research by economic consultancy BAEeconomics commissioned by the Minerals Council of Australia.

The Australian Energy Market Operator is forecasting a crippling 1000 megawatt energy shortfall in 2022, as Australia's coal power plants begin to shut down, potentially leading to power shortages and rising prices for consumers.

Read Eryk Bagshaw’s story in today’s Melbourne Age - “Nationals party votes to remove all subsidies for renewable energy.”

(Madness is afoot in the National Party. Personal experience illustrates that the renewable energy industry is already alive with new jobs; jobs that will replace most of those that disappear as the fossil fuel industry dissolves because of scientific evidence and good sense - Robert McLean)