Greens would use balance of power to push coal levy: Bandt
Greens leader Adam Bandt says his party would use a balance of power to push for a levy on coal exports to fund Australia’s exit from the industry.
Greens Senators Nick McKim, Larissa Waters, Greens Member for Melbourne and new Greens leader Adam Bandt and Rachel Siewert speak to the media at a press conference at Parliament House in Canberra, Tuesday, February 4, 2020. (Photo: AAP Image/Mick Tsikas)
It will launch its full climate plan entitled Powering Past Coal and Gas in Sydney on Thursday, aiming to create 805,000 jobs across the next decade while improving the budget bottom line by $51.9 billion across by removing handouts to huge corporations.
Bandt will again establish his party’s ambition to reach net-zero emissions by 2035 and produce negative emissions to lower pollution by more than 100 million tonnes a year by 2050.
The plan takes aim at the major parties and calls for immediate action rather than continued debate around Australia’s net-zero emissions by 2050 pledge.
It is costed by the independent Parliamentary Budget Office.
“Net-zero by 2050 is an empty slogan for ‘someone else’s problem’ … we don’t have another three years to waste,” Mr Bandt said.
“Labor’s climate policy position is the worst it has been in a decade and not by accident … and creating a climate-focused parliament with Greens in the balance of power is closer than you think.”
The plan includes a $1 levy per tonne of thermal coal and $3 for coking coal, with that rate to rise each year.
That projects to raise the budget by $21.7 billion over the decade, to be used to fund climate disaster recovery and investment in green hydrogen and metals to drive that new export industry.
The Greens would also cull some $98 billion of handouts to mining corporations, with their plan including a $19 billion job-for-job guarantee to maintain coal workers’ wages for a decade.
Australia would exit thermal coal by 2030 and metallurgical coal by 2040, with the coal levy also used to fund workers’ transitions to new jobs.
A moratorium would be placed on new coal, oil and gas.
Bandt has previously said he expects neither major party will govern in its own right after the election and will require crossbench support to form a minority government.
The Greens are also hoping to gain as many as three seats to add to their existing nine Senate seats, where the crossbench already holds the balance of power.
“People want to hear parties tackling the big issues like climate change … the Greens have a comprehensive climate and energy plan for Australia to power past coal and gas, become a renewable energy superpower and move to a jobs-rich zero pollution economy,” Mr Bandt said.
“The Greens have a plan to phase out coal exports and levy the coal corporations to help pay for the damage they’re causing and to grow new, clean industries with secure jobs.”
