Former energy minister Scott Morrison spent Sunday morning frantically attempting to separate himself and the previous administration from Australia’s power problem.
With areas of the country surviving blackouts by a hair’s breadth, Angus Taylor, the Liberal treasury spokesman, and party leader Peter Dutton instead blamed Labor.
Despite the fact that the Coalition had been in control for nine years until Labor won the federal election four weeks ago, the Coalition had been in power for nine years.
Mr Taylor claimed that the previous administration successfully regulated power supplies “in the run-up to the election.”
A power supply and price crisis has engulfed Australia in recent weeks.
Despite the frigid winter weather, the energy crisis worsened last week, with the National Electricity Market stopped, hospitals advised to decrease electricity use, and millions of citizens urged not to use essential appliances.
With around 1800MW of coal-fired power not working in Queensland and 1200MW of capacity unavailable in NSW, Victoria, South Australia, and Tasmania, the risk of major blackouts has escalated.
The former Morrison government was accused by the Albanese government, while NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet cited a ‘ideological conflict’ over renewables.
Mr Taylor refused to take responsibility for the issue, claiming that the challenges were beyond his government’s control.
‘There is no doubt there has been upward pressure on energy prices around the world, there’s no question about that – and that’s a big challenge,’ he told Sky News.
‘The point I’m making is that there’s sensible actions that can be taken to alleviate those pressures.’
Host Andrew Clennell interrupted, asking: ‘Wait, do you take any responsibility?’
‘We had managed this in the lead-up to the election successfully,’ Mr Taylor replied.
‘We had managed it successfully, we showed how you do that when you focus on supply and don’t demonise traditional sources of fuel… and we delivered the outcomes.’
Mr Dutton claimed the new Labor administration was to blame for the energy issue, but he didn’t blame it exclusively on them; he also blamed the states.
‘There is fault all around here… Over a long period of time, people have been taking different positions, including state governments,’ he told ABC.
Mr Dutton claimed Labor would make the crisis worse.
‘We were agnostic in terms of the technology or energy source… this is the point,’ he said.
‘Labor would have turned off coal years ago. (Energy Minister) Chris Bowen’s argument still is this very day to exclude coal and gas.
‘I think (Mr Bowen) is a bunny in the headlights.’
Mr Taylor said if he was still the energy minister, he would have ensured there was more supply in the market.
‘If you focus on reliable supply, you don’t get yourself in this position,’ he said.
Workplace Relations Minister Tony Burke said Mr Taylor’s interview was ‘extraordinary’.
‘There was no responsibility taken for anything,’ Mr Burke told Sky News. ‘And the big thing on how do they get supply going?
‘His example was Kurri Kurri (in the NSW Hunter Valley), which they announced, but hasn’t been built.’
Mr Burke claimed that the previous administration had “no feeling of ownership” of the current energy market issue.
He claimed that the Coalition was to blame for ‘years of neglect.’
‘There’s work involved with being able to (fix) that,’ he said.
‘If Mr Taylor has plans to treat the Australian economy (as Shadow Treasurer) with the way he treated the national energy market, they’re not going to come up with very many good ideas.’