Extract from The Guardian
Victorian premier says prime minister’s views about South Australia’s weather ideologically driven and sounded like Tony Abbott
Victoria’s premier, Daniel Andrews, has slammed Malcolm Turnbull’s response to South Australia’s once-in-50-years storm, saying he is peddling “ignorant rubbish” by conflating the state’s blackout with its heavy use of renewable energy.
Andrews said the prime minister’s comments about the storm on Thursday were so ideological they could have come from Tony Abbott, but at least Abbott would have waited until the natural disaster had abated before making similar statements.
He said Turnbull chose to link the two issues of SA’s extreme weather event, which knocked out the state’s transmission system, and the state’s use of renewable energy.
“The poles and wires had blown over,” Andrews told ABC radio on Friday.
“The prime minister has conflated two issues. This sort of ignorant rubbish, which I don’t think any South Australian would have appreciated in the midst of natural disaster ... his commentary yesterday, well Tony Abbott could have said it, it could have come from Tony Abbott, but I thought Malcolm Turnbull was a slightly different leader.
“And what’s more, I don’t Tony Abbott would have said it in the midst of one of the most significant events South Australians have had to deal with for a very long time.”
South Australia lost power for hours on Wednesday evening after a severe storm tore 22 transmission towers from the ground, and knocked out the state’s transmission system making it impossible to deliver power to homes.
Thousands of properties were still without power on Friday as restoration crews worked through more wild weather.
On Thursday, the morning after the storm, Turnbull said the immediate cause of the power outage had been the extreme weather event which damaged a number of transmission line assets knocking over towers and lines.
But he also linked the blackout to the state’s heavy reliance on renewable energy, calling it a “wake-up call” for state leaders who were trying to hit “completely unrealistic” renewable targets.
He said it was time to stop the “political gamesmanship” between the states that has seen a state like Queensland set a 50% renewable target when renewables account for only 4.5% of its mix currently.
He said Australia needed to overhaul it numerous state-based renewable energy targets and move towards a single national target.
“We’ve got to recognise that energy security is the key priority and targeting lower emissions is very important but it must be consistent with energy security,” Turnbull said on Thursday.
“Let’s focus now and take this storm in South Australia ... as a real wake-up call, let’s end the ideology, focus on a clear renewable target. The federal government has one as you know, 23.5% is our target.”
His comments came as government officials admitted that Australia’s 2030 greenhouse gas emissions reductions pledged at Paris in 2015 were made without any modelling to show whether existing policies could achieve those targets.
Andrews said on Friday the only way Turnbull would reach his renewable energy target would be through the “very state schemes that he is criticising”.
“You can’t offer no leadership on renewable energy, then in the midst of a natural disaster that is about the poles and wires blowing over that carry the energy, not the method that actually creates it, you can’t then claim that you’re a leader when it comes to innovation and taking action.”
Andrews said the prime minister’s comments about the storm on Thursday were so ideological they could have come from Tony Abbott, but at least Abbott would have waited until the natural disaster had abated before making similar statements.
He said Turnbull chose to link the two issues of SA’s extreme weather event, which knocked out the state’s transmission system, and the state’s use of renewable energy.
“The poles and wires had blown over,” Andrews told ABC radio on Friday.
“The prime minister has conflated two issues. This sort of ignorant rubbish, which I don’t think any South Australian would have appreciated in the midst of natural disaster ... his commentary yesterday, well Tony Abbott could have said it, it could have come from Tony Abbott, but I thought Malcolm Turnbull was a slightly different leader.
“And what’s more, I don’t Tony Abbott would have said it in the midst of one of the most significant events South Australians have had to deal with for a very long time.”
South Australia lost power for hours on Wednesday evening after a severe storm tore 22 transmission towers from the ground, and knocked out the state’s transmission system making it impossible to deliver power to homes.
Thousands of properties were still without power on Friday as restoration crews worked through more wild weather.
On Thursday, the morning after the storm, Turnbull said the immediate cause of the power outage had been the extreme weather event which damaged a number of transmission line assets knocking over towers and lines.
But he also linked the blackout to the state’s heavy reliance on renewable energy, calling it a “wake-up call” for state leaders who were trying to hit “completely unrealistic” renewable targets.
He said it was time to stop the “political gamesmanship” between the states that has seen a state like Queensland set a 50% renewable target when renewables account for only 4.5% of its mix currently.
He said Australia needed to overhaul it numerous state-based renewable energy targets and move towards a single national target.
“We’ve got to recognise that energy security is the key priority and targeting lower emissions is very important but it must be consistent with energy security,” Turnbull said on Thursday.
“Let’s focus now and take this storm in South Australia ... as a real wake-up call, let’s end the ideology, focus on a clear renewable target. The federal government has one as you know, 23.5% is our target.”
His comments came as government officials admitted that Australia’s 2030 greenhouse gas emissions reductions pledged at Paris in 2015 were made without any modelling to show whether existing policies could achieve those targets.
Andrews said on Friday the only way Turnbull would reach his renewable energy target would be through the “very state schemes that he is criticising”.
“You can’t offer no leadership on renewable energy, then in the midst of a natural disaster that is about the poles and wires blowing over that carry the energy, not the method that actually creates it, you can’t then claim that you’re a leader when it comes to innovation and taking action.”
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